Week 7: Assessment Techniques (graded)

This week’s graded topics relate to the following Course Outcomes (COs).

• CO 1 – Utilize prior knowledge of theories and principles of nursing and related disciplines to explain expected client behaviors, while differentiating between normal findings, variations, and abnormalities. (PO 1)
• CO 4 – Identify teaching/learning needs from the health history of an individual. (PO 2)

Discussion

In Week 6 you demonstrated a head to toe assessment of an adult participant. This week you and your classmates will reflect on the assessment you performed for your video assignment, and also apply this week’s lesson on family assessment.

 

Please consider the following in your initial post:

1. Reflect on the assessment you performed for the video assignment. Perhaps you might compare your performance now, to how it might have been different when you were a brand new nurse? Or share something you learned (or were reminded of) by participating in this activity?
2. Based on your observations, do you feel that patient assessments performed in practice are as thorough as they should be? Explain your answer.
3. This week’s lesson focuses on assessment of families and introduces specific assessment opportunities for racially diverse, same sex, and adoptive families. Select one of these three non-traditional families. How would your assessment technique change to be sure that you were competently caring for a member of this type of family unit? This may include questions you would add to the health history, or ways in which you would communicate.

Grading

**To see view the grading criteria/rubric, please click on the 3 dots in the box at the end of the solid gray bar above the discussion board title and then Show Rubric.

 

 

MORE INFO 

Assessment Techniques in Nursing

Introduction

Assessment is a critical part of nursing. It’s not just about reading a chart or doing an exam and handing out medication, but it encompasses more than that. It requires you to be creative, analytical and observant in order to accurately assess your patient’s condition and needs. In this post, we’ll discuss some common assessment techniques used by nurses:

Observation

Observation is the most common method of assessment. It involves looking for signs and symptoms of disease, injury or other problems. The nurse can observe patients by themselves or in groups.

Observation can be subjective because it depends on the observer’s judgment of what they see as normal or abnormal; however, this can be helpful if you have limited time to spend with your patient during an interview session because it allows you to quickly identify when something looks off without needing to ask questions about each potential concern on its own (which would take up valuable time).

Palpation

Palpation is the most commonly used method of assessment, and it’s used to detect swelling, tenderness and heat.

Palpation involves touching a specific part of a body part with your fingers to determine its size and shape. You can palpate many areas on people’s bodies:

• Legs – To assess leg length or knee alignment

• Shoulders – To evaluate whether there are any creases in their scapula (shoulder blade) from arthritis or muscle tightness/spasms due to injury or poor posture

Percussion

Percussion is a technique that uses a stethoscope to listen for sounds in the body. The percussionist will place the instrument on their patient’s chest, allowing them to hear heart and pulse sounds through their skin.

Percussion can be used in many different circumstances:

• To assess breathing patterns during sleep (e.g., obstructive sleep apnea)

• To determine whether there is fluid around the lungs (pleural effusion)

Auscultation

• Auscultation is the process of listening to sounds coming from different parts of the body. For example, you can listen for heart sounds by placing one hand above your heart and using your other hand to feel for a pulse. You can also use a stethoscope (a device that looks like an ear trumpet) to listen to lung sounds by placing it on top of your chest while breathing in through both nostrils and out through your mouth.

• Auscultation is used primarily as an aid in diagnosing diseases or injuries but can be used as part of routine assessment as well.

Measurement

Measurement is a technique used to assess a patient’s health status. Measurements can be made using a tape measure, scale, or other instrument. Measurements are used to assess the size and shape of body parts such as height and weight; they help determine if there is an imbalance on one side or another in relation to the rest of your body.

Inspection

Inspection is a type of observation that involves looking at the patient and recording observations on paper. It can be done in person, but it’s more common to have an observer or student do it over e-mail or Skype video chat.

Inspection requires that you take notes while looking at your patient and observing what they’re doing (e.g., eating, sleeping). You should also look for signs of distress such as changes in breathing patterns or heart rate; these indicate possible problems with their health status that need further investigation by a healthcare professional trained in assessment techniques like observation or history taking.

Takeaway:

Takeaway:

• Use a variety of assessment techniques in your practice.

• Consider the patient’s cultural background when developing assessments and interventions.

• Learn how to use multiple sources of data when making decisions about care delivery.

Conclusion

We hope this article has given you a better understanding of assessment techniques. Remember, there are many different types of assessment, each with its own unique purpose and use in nursing practice. As we have seen, some assessments may be more appropriate for certain situations than others; however, all can be used effectively if they are used appropriately!