Physical Examination And Health Assessment Jarvis Pdf 65
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Physical Examination And Health Assessment Jarvis Pdf 65
Physical Examination and Health Assessment: A Comprehensive Guide for Nurses
Physical examination and health assessment are essential skills for nurses to provide quality care to patients across the lifespan. Physical examination is the systematic collection of objective data about the patient's health status, while health assessment is the analysis and interpretation of the data to identify the patient's health problems and needs. Physical examination and health assessment can help nurses to:
Establish a baseline for future comparisons
Detect early signs of disease or deterioration
Monitor the effectiveness of interventions and treatments
Evaluate the patient's response to illness and stress
Develop a therapeutic relationship with the patient
Promote health education and prevention
This article will provide an overview of the principles and techniques of physical examination and health assessment, based on the book Physical Examination and Health Assessment by Carolyn Jarvis[^1^]. It will also highlight some of the adaptations and considerations for different populations, such as infants, children, pregnant women, older adults, and culturally diverse groups.
Principles of Physical Examination and Health Assessment
Physical examination and health assessment require a systematic and logical approach that follows these steps:
Preparation: Before performing a physical examination, the nurse should prepare the environment, equipment, and patient. The environment should be comfortable, private, quiet, and well-lit. The equipment should be clean, functional, and readily available. The patient should be informed about the purpose, process, and expected findings of the examination. The nurse should also obtain informed consent from the patient and respect their preferences, values, and rights.
Inspection: Inspection is the use of vision, hearing, and smell to observe the patient's appearance, behavior, and body structure. The nurse should inspect the patient from head to toe, comparing both sides of the body for symmetry and noting any abnormalities. The nurse should also use appropriate lighting, exposure, and positioning to enhance visualization.
Palpation: Palpation is the use of touch to assess the patient's skin texture, temperature, moisture, turgor, thickness, mobility, edema, tenderness, masses, vibrations, pulses, and organ size and location. The nurse should use different parts of the hand (fingertips, dorsum, palm, base of fingers) for different purposes and apply varying degrees of pressure (light, moderate, deep) depending on the depth of the structure being palpated. The nurse should also warm their hands before touching the patient and avoid causing pain or discomfort.
Percussion: Percussion is the use of tapping or striking the patient's body surface to elicit sounds or vibrations that reflect the density of underlying structures. The nurse should use their dominant hand to deliver a quick and firm blow to their nondominant hand or a pleximeter (a small device placed on the skin) that is placed over the area to be percussed. The nurse should listen for the pitch (high or low), intensity (loud or soft), duration (long or short), and quality (clear or dull) of the sounds produced by different organs or tissues.
Auscultation: Auscultation is the use of hearing to listen to the sounds produced by the patient's heart, lungs, blood vessels, abdomen, and other organs. The nurse should use a stethoscope to amplify the sounds and isolate them from external noises. The nurse should also use different parts of the stethoscope (diaphragm or bell) for different types of sounds (high-pitched or low-pitched) and apply gentle pressure on the skin.
Documentation: Documentation is the recording of the findings of physical examination and health assessment in a clear, concise, accurate, and timely manner. The nurse should use standard terminology, abbreviations, symbols