Physical Health Assessment Essay.

A comprehensive health assessment gives nurses insight into a patient’s physical status through observation, the measurement of vital signs and self-reported symptoms. It includes a medical history, a general survey and a complete physical examination.Physical Health Assessment Essay.

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The general survey consists of a patient’s age, weight, height, build, posture, gait and hygiene. Nurses use health assessments to obtain baseline data about patients and to build a rapport with them that can ease anxiety and lead to a trusting relationship.Physical Health Assessment Essay.

A comprehensive health assessment is generally conducted at the time of admission into an acute care facility or during the first visit to an outpatient clinic. When nurses perform an assessment, they may use techniques such as:

Inspection

This is the most frequently used method for assessment. Nurses look for indications of a health problem by using their eyes, ears and nose. They may inspect skin color, lesions, bruises or rashes as well as pay attention to abnormal sounds and odors.

Auscultation

Nurses listen to the sounds of the abdomen by placing the diaphragm or bell of a stethoscope on the bare skin of a patient.

Palpation

Nurses apply varying degrees of pressure on the patient with different parts of their hands. Palpation allows nurses to assess for texture, tenderness, temperature, moisture, pulsations and the presence of masses.

Percussion

Nurses firmly press on sections of a patient’s body with the distal part the middle finger on their non-dominant hand. The technique is used directly over suspected areas of tenderness to check a patient’s level of discomfort.

What Steps Are Involved In A Comprehensive Health Assessment?

Typically, a comprehensive assessment begins with documenting a patient’s health history before starting a physical exam. According to AMN Healthcare Education Services, the health history includes: the patient’s medical complaint, present state of health, past health record, current lifestyle, psychosocial status and family history.Physical Health Assessment Essay.

The health history provides nurses with in-depth information about symptoms, childhood illnesses, related medical experiences and risks for developing certain diseases.

After the health history data is recorded, a physical is conducted which covers a review of the patient’s body systems. A head to toe examination includes assessments of the following:

• Skin
• Neurological function
• Ears, eyes, nose and throat
• Respiratory function
• Cardiac-pulmonary system
• Abdomen
• Muscles and joints
• Limbs, shoulders, hips, ankles and feet
• Reproductive system
• Nutrition

A thorough and accurate assessment is important because it helps differentiate the normal condition of the patient from the abnormal. And, a comprehensive health assessment establishes if a patient needs diagnostic testing or additional medical care.Physical Health Assessment Essay.

How Can Earning A BSN Improve A Nurse’s Assessment Skills?

Nurses learn assessment skills in nursing school. An online RN to BSN program like the one offered by Eastern Illinois University (EIU) includes the course Advanced Nursing Health Assessment that prepares students to perform precise examination. The curriculum builds on a nurse’s basic nursing assessment proficiencies. Once nurses earn the BSN, they are prepared to give a comprehensive health assessment and apply the knowledge to make sound clinical judgements.Physical Health Assessment Essay.

A comprehensive health assessment is a crucial component in the nursing practice. Without it, nurses can have a difficult time pinpointing a patient’s medical requirements. It is not enough for patients to tell nurses what is wrong. Instead, nurses need to rely on the observations they record from physical examinations to decide on a course of action. By completing a systematic and efficient assessment, nurses are able to communicate with patients and help them take measures to maintain or manage their health.

In this section of the NCLEX-RN examination, you will be expected to demonstrate your knowledge and skills of techniques of physical assessment in order to:

• Apply knowledge of nursing procedures and psychomotor skills to techniques of physical assessment
• Choose physical assessment equipment and techniques appropriate for the client (e.g., age of client, measurement of vital signs)
• Perform comprehensive health assessment

Applying the Knowledge of Nursing Procedures and Psychomotor Skills to the Techniques of Physical Assessment

Baseline data that is collected after the health history and before the complete head to toe examination includes a general survey of the client. The general survey includes the patient’s weight, height, body build, posture, gait, obvious signs of distress, level of hygiene and grooming, skin integrity, vital signs, oxygen saturation, and the patient’s actual age compared and contrasted to the age that the patient actually appears like. For example, does the patient appear to be older than their actual age? Does the patient appear to be younger than their actual age?Physical Health Assessment Essay.

Nurses prepare and position clients for physical examinations. Nurses provide privacy, explain and reinforce the procedures to the client and insure that the client is as comfortable as possible during the physical examination.

As with all other aspects of nursing care, all data and information that is collected with the health history and the physical examination are documented according to the particular facility’s policies and procedures. Some facilities use special forms for this data and information.Physical Health Assessment Essay.

Registered nurses, advanced practice nurses such as nurse practitioners, and doctors typically do the complete head to toe physical assessment and examination and document all of these details in the patient’s medical record; however, licensed practical nurses review these details and compare this baseline physical examination data and information to the current patient status as they are providing ongoing care. They also report and document all their significant physical examination results to the supervising registered nurse and/or the patient’s health care provider.Physical Health Assessment Essay.

The four basic methods or techniques that are used for physical assessment are inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation. Inspection is a visual examination of the patient; palpation is done when the person doing the assessment places their fingers on the body to determine things like swelling, masses, and areas of pain. Palpation can include light and deep palpation. Deep palpation is cautiously done after light palpation when necessary because the client’s responses to deep palpation may include their tightening of the abdominal muscles, for example, which will make the light palpation less effective for this assessment, particularly if an area of pain or tenderness has been palpated.Physical Health Assessment Essay.

Percussion is tapping the patient’s bodily surfaces and hearing the resulting sounds to determine the presence of things like air and solid masses affecting internal organs. The sounds that are heard with percussion are resonance which is a hollow sound, flatness which is typically hear over solid things like bone, hyper resonance which is a loud booming sound, and tympany which is a drum type sound.Physical Health Assessment Essay.