Question

detailed health assessment vs comprehensive health assessment

Answer 1

DETAILED HEALTH ASSESSMENT VS COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH ASSESSMENT

DETAILED HEALTH ASSESSMENT

Detailed Health assessment of patients falls under the preview of both physicians and nurses. While some nurses practice in extended roles (Advanced Nurse Practitioners), others maintain a more traditional role in the acute care setting.

· Assessment of patients varies based on both role and setting. A cardiac care nurse will be more familiar with cardiac issues.

· A nurse on a neurologic unit will be more familiar with a more complex neurological examination.

Exposure to a detailed health assessment may leads to a more comprehensive and thorough examination. For instance, if we note a patient has leukoplakia (coated tongue) perform general assessment, about hygiene issues, underlying diseases, or medications that may cause this. Documenting the information, talking with the patient about it, and confirming it with the physician adds value as a healthcare team member, and ultimately a better patient care provider.

Detailed Health Assessment is an incredibly valuable tool, nurses have in their arsenal of skills. A thorough and skilled assessment allows , the nurse, to obtain descriptions about the patient’s symptoms, how the symptoms developed, and a process to discover any associated physical findings that will aid in the development of differential diagnoses.

Assessment uses both subjective and objective data.

Subjective assessment factors are those that are reported by the patient.

Objective assessment data includes that which is observable and measurable.

COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH ASSESSMENT

· It includes complete physical examination and health history

· 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.

· 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.

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.

Typically, a comprehensive assessment begins with documenting a patient's health history before starting a physical exam.The health history includes: the patient's medical complaint, present state of health, past health record, current lifestyle, psychosocial status and family history.

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