Purpose
The purpose of this reflection is for learners to reflect on the nurse’s role in health assessment in various care settings.
Course Outcomes
This reflection enables the student to meet the following course outcomes:
CO 1: Demonstrate a head to toe physical assessment. (PO 1)
CO 3: Describe physical, psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual influences on an individual’s health status. (PO 1)
Due Date
During the assigned week (Sunday the start of the assigned week through Sunday the end of the assigned week):
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- Posts in the discussion at least two times, and
- Posts in the discussion on two different days
Points Possible
50 points
Directions
- Reflection is an activity that involves your deep thought into your own experiences related to the concepts of the week. Answers should be detailed. In reflections students:
- Demonstrate understanding of concepts for the week
- Engage in meaningful dialogue with classmates and/or instructor
- Express opinions clearly and logically, in a professional manner
- Use the rubric on this page as you compose your answers.
- Scholarly sources are NOT required for this reflection
- Best Practices include:
- Participation early in the week is encouraged to stimulate meaningful discussion among classmates and instructor.
- Enter the reflection often during the week to read and learn from posts.
- Select different classmates for your reply each week.
Reflect on your current or prior practice setting.
- Paragraph One: Briefly describe the type(s) of nursing health assessments you commonly perform.
- Explain how your nursing health assessments are focused or comprehensive.
- Provide examples of key subjective and objective data collected by nurses in this setting.
- Paragraph Two: Describe the typical patient population in your practice setting.
- What are some special considerations that you have used for obtaining an accurate health history and physical assessment in this patient population?
- Examples may include age, lifestyle, financial status, health status, culture, religion, or spiritual practices.
- What are some special considerations that you have used for obtaining an accurate health history and physical assessment in this patient population?
SOLUTION
It is so interesting how differently we can approach assessing the patient and still come to a common end goal. In my prior practice of performing patient assessments, I would look at the information such as labs, vitals, and imaging typically at the start of my shift before going to assess an already established patient on our trauma-ortho unit. I found that it would give me a significant advantage when it came to physically performing the patient assessment and before medicating. On our unit, we don’t usually do focused assessment, instead we perform a comprehensive assessment each shift, so whether or not a patient comes in with abdominal complaints we still assess for bowel sounds, flatus, and bowel movements.
When I would admit patients to the unit, whether it was a direct admit, a transfer from the ICU, or coming from the emergency room I had a systematic approach of performing the extended comprehensive assessment. . I would introduce myself to the patient, explain to them what the process would be and consolidate my care so that I could be efficient as each admission typically would take an hour from start to finish, even for the most experienced nurse. Visually I would inspect the patient on arrival asking myself do they appear alert and oriented, what does the skin look like? Please click the purchase button to access the entire copy at $5