Chapter 1 - Evidenced-Based Assessment Flashcards

1
Q

Evidenced-Based Assessment Using the Nursing Process

A
  • The Nursing Process is an interactive and dynamic method for viewing and providing patient care.
  • The steps of the process are cyclical, moving in a forward and backward direction.
  • Assessment, Evaluation and Re-assessment occur during all steps in the process.

Nursing Process 6 phases:

  1. Assessment
  2. Diagnosis
  3. Planning Outcomes
  4. Planning Interventions
  5. Implementation
  6. Evaluation
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2
Q

Assessment

A

Collection of data about the individual’s health state

  • Purpose - to make a judgement or diagnosis
  • It is systematic
  • It includes gathering data that is both subjective and objective
    • Data may be gathered from any of the following:
      • Review of clinical record
      • Health history
      • Physical examination
      • Functional assessment
      • Risk assessment
      • Review of the literature
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3
Q

Subjective vs. Objective data

A
  • Subjected
    • Data communicated by the individual, family, or community
    • Obtained through interview
    • Data is what the client tells you
    • use quotation marks
    • Ex. Symptoms, values, perceptions, feelings, beliefs, sensations, attitudes
  • Objective
    • Data gathered via observation (inspection), testing (percussion, palpation, auscultation)
    • Physical exam: what you observe through your senses
    • Assessment techniques: inspection, percussion, palpation, and auscultation
    • Through good communication, open-ended questions, no confrontation, repeating, etc.
    • Establish TRUST
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4
Q

Primary vs. Secondary data

A
  • Primary
    • Data gathered via observation (inspection), testing (percussion, palpation, auscultation)
  • Secondary
    • Data from medical record, test results, other caregivers
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5
Q

Diagnostic Reasoning

A

Process of analyzing health data and drawing conclusions to identify diagnosis

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6
Q

What is a Nursing Health Assessment?

A
  • Foundation of your nursing skills
  • First phase of the nursing process
  • Focuses on the whole person
  • Assessment includes: physical, growth /development, emotional, activities of daily living (ADL’s), patterns of coping, health goals, environment, cultural / religious statuses
  • Collects data for nursing and medical purposes.
  • Focuses on identifying possible, actual, and/or potential health problems.
  • Gathers, validates, & organizes data about the client (individual, family and community).
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7
Q

Focus on Assessment

A

This course focuses on assessment, not diagnosis

  • Assessment: Collection of data
  • Interpretation of data is the beginning of obtaining a Nursing Diagnosis
  • Identify clusters of “clues”, make inferences about clusters of “clues” validating the inferences, documentation of nursing diagnosis
    • Ex. Clustering data- the patient complains of pain- pain intensity scale, assess for rapid heart rate, increased BP, facial grimacing, body movement and positioning
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8
Q

Priority settings

A

As you gather clinical clues during an assessment think about priority settings

  1. First-level priority problems: emergent, life threatening
  2. Second-level priority: Next in urgency - require prompt intervention before continued deterioration
  3. Third-level priority: important to patient’s health but can wait
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9
Q

Evidenced-based practice

A
  • More than the use of best-practice techniques
  • Encompasses the integration of research evidence, clinical expertise, clinical knowledge, and patient values and preferences
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10
Q

Collecting Four types of Nursing Assessment

A

Every examiner needs to establish 4 different types of databases

  • Complete Health Assessment:
    • Full health history and physical exam
    • Non-emergent data collected at initial visit, or on hospital admission.
  • Episodic/ Problem-centered / Focused
    • For limited or short-term problem
    • Determination of a specific problem, targeted
    • Use OPQRSTU. Pain Assessment
  • Interval, or Follow-up:
    • Status of an identified problem evaluated
    • Follow up on both short- and long-term issues
    • Comparison of baseline to now
  • Emergency:
    • Urgent assessment is collection of crucial information while performing lifesaving measures
    • Focuses on ABCs
    • More rapid collection of data.
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11
Q

OPQRSTU. Pain Assessment

A
  • Onset- When did it begin? How long does it last (duration)?, how often does it occur (time)?
  • Provoking or palliative factors? What brings it on? What makes it better? What makes it worse?
  • Quality- what does it feel like? Can you describe it (throbbing, stabbing, dull)
  • Region and Radiation- Does your pain radiate? Where does it spread? Point to where it hurts the most, Where does your pain go from there?
  • Severity- What is the intensity? Pain scale (0-10)
  • Time & Treatment- When did the symptoms first begin? What medications are you currently taking for this? How effective are the medications?
  • Understanding & Impact- What do you believe is causing this? Is it affecting your ADL’s?

Do you have any other concerns?

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12
Q

Organize Subjective & Objective Data

A
  • Head to Toe Model or Cephalo-caudal:
    • Organize the assessment by proceeding with the exam in a “head to toe” order
  • Body Systems Model:
    • Assessment is organized by body system
    • Examples: GI system, GU system
  • Abbreviated—may be part or all of a 10-minute health assessment
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13
Q

Cultural Considerations

A
  • Be careful not to stereotype
  • Consider cultural differences in your assessment technique
  • Consider your own VALUES in your assessment technique
  • Be aware of the perception that your beliefs, values, accepted behaviors are superior to those of other cultures
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14
Q

Apply Critical Thinking to
Physical Assessment:

A

Critical thinking goes beyond just knowing the pathophysiology rather than putting together important assessment cues to determine the likely cause of a clinical problem while developing possible interventions.

  • Step 1: Identify Abnormal Data from Normal Data
  • Step 2: Cluster Collected Subjective & Objective data.
  • Step 3: Draw Conclusions to make clinical decisions
  • Step 4: Propose possible nursing diagnosis
    • Wellness Diagnosis
    • Risk Diagnosis:
    • Actual Nursing Diagnosis:
  • Step 5: Check for defining characteristics
    • Must be present in order to use a nursing diagnosis
  • Step 6: Confirm or rule in or rule out
    “possible” differential diagnoses
  • Step 7: Document conclusions
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15
Q

Possible nursing diagnosis

A
  • Wellness Diagnosis
    • Based on identified patient strengths; indicates an opportunity for enhancement of health state & client wish to improve health
    • “Readiness for enhanced family coping”
  • Risk Diagnosis:
    • No problem identified, but high risk for developing one. This is a 2 part statement:
      “At risk for sleep deprivation related to incisional pain”
    • Attempting to prevent the occurrence of a problem
  • Actual Nursing Diagnosis:
    • Actual problem or dysfunctional state. This is a 3 part statement in one sentence:
      1. Chronic pain…
      2. R/T (related to) inflammation secondary to arthritis…
      3. as exhibited by grimacing with motion
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16
Q

Health History

A

The health history is the first step of the nursing process.

  • The health history:
    * Assesses all areas of the client’s life which impact physical & psychological health
    * Identifies potential/at risk as well as actual problems
    *Identifies the client’s strengths & weaknesses
17
Q

Considerations when obtaining a Health History:

A

Must DO:

  • Reserve your final opinion until ALL data has been collected
  • Use proven rationales to support opinions & decisions
  • Continue to build your knowledge base & clinical experience
  • Distinguish between fact, opinion, cues, inferences
  • Ask client to clarify information when needed
  • Validate information & inferences with experts
  • Avoid biases and preconceived notions

Must be AWARE:

  • Aware of interactions with others
  • Aware of entire environment
  • Aware of the fact you may not always be correct
18
Q

Components of the Health History: Biographical Data

A
  • Name: initials or first name of client
  • Address & phone #
  • Birth date & age
  • Birthplace
  • Gender
  • Race and/or ethnicity
  • Religion/Spirituality
  • Marital status (or partnered)
  • Occupation: current &/or past

Consider how each component of the biographical data impacts client health.

* What risks factors might be associated with age, gender, ethnicity?
* What health risks might be associated with address, occupation?

19
Q

Health History: Source

A

Source & Reliability:

  • Always note:
    • who gave you the information
    • how reliable that person appears to be (Is the person a good historian?)

Examples:

  • “Patient appears to be a reliable historian.”
  • “Patient information inconsistent.”
  • “Professional/ family/ friend/ translator – pt. does not speak English.”
  • “Professional/ family/ friend - patient has a diagnosis of dementia.” Note the consistency of history given.
20
Q

Reason For Visit

A

Reason for Seeking Health Care:

  • Subjective statement in quotes:
    • “I have had a cold for 5 days.”
    • “I am here for a follow-up on my blood pressure”

What brings you in to the office today?

  • Allows the nurse to assess what the patient identifies as the priority issue
21
Q

History of Present Illness (HPI)

A

A chronological history of the client’s chief complaint (reason for seeking care).

  • Document this either from first appearance of symptoms to the current date or from current date backwards.
    • The former is the preferred method.
    • Document as fully as possible, but note that you will not be able to fully “OPQRSTU” every complaint.
22
Q

Use OPQRSTU for ALL abnormal comments or findings

A
  • O=Onset
  • P=Palliative/Provocative
    • Alleviating or aggravating factors associated with the symptoms
  • Q = Quality of symptoms
    • burning, stabbing, etc.
    • Any other associated symptoms
  • R = Radiation/ Region:
    • Location of problem
    • Radiate or appear anywhere else?
  • S = Severity of discomfort associated with sx.
    • RATED on a scale
  • T = Timing
    • When did this start
    • Gradual or sudden onset
    • Symptoms continuous or intermittent
    • How often does it occur
    • Setting it occurs in
  • U = Understanding.
23
Q

OPQRSTU Examples

A

“I have chest pain”

O- “It started 2 hours ago”
P - “Walking makes it worse, I feel better when I rest”
Q - “It feels like an elephant sitting on my chest; I also have nausea”
R - “The pain runs down my left arm”
S- “It is a 12 on a scale of 1 - 10”
T - “It started at work & has been getting steadily worse”
U - “I’m afraid I am having a heart attack”

24
Q

Past Medical History (PMH)

A
  • General health: “excellent”, “fair”, “poor”
    • Ask patient how they would rate their health
  • Allergies: medication, food, environment
    • note what happens when exposed to allergen
  • Immunizations:
    • be specific “all the usual” not helpful
  • Major illnesses and any sequelae
  • Childhood Illnesses Hospitalizations: where, why, blood transfusions, etc
  • Surgeries: Previous, problems with recovery or rehab
  • Current Medications
    • If possible, have the client bring medications to the interview.
      • Alternative: list of all medications currently taking
      • Include Over The Counter (OTC) and herbal
25
Q

Health History: The Genogram

A

Family health history at a glance; Useful for identifying health & stress risk factors in the client.

  • Usually, 3 generations are included:
    • The client’s parents
    • The client with spouse/partner, & siblings
    • The client’s children
    • If no children and/or if a significant finding is noted on history, include client’s grandparents

Family Past Medical History - An accurate family history highlights diseases and conditions for which the patient may be at increased risk for

26
Q

Drawing the Genogram

A

The Genogram includes:

  • At least 3 generations identified as male (square) or female (circle)
  • Client identified with an “x” through their square or circle
  • Age & state of health of all persons noted
  • Deceased person’s squares/circles: filled in; date of death and terminal diagnosis noted
  • Relationships between all persons diagrammed
  • Key to Genogram always included in diagram
27
Q

Genogram - sample

A
  • Circle members of current household.
  • Marital separation and divorce give date.
  • Miscarriage or abortion use triangle and give year.
  • Try to go 2 generations above the patient include parents and grandparents.

Why do you need to know this information? You want to know family history of HBP, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, blood disorders, cancer, sickle cell, obesity, asthma, seizure disorder, mental illness, kidney disease, and tb.

This data may have genetic significance for the patient.

28
Q

Genogram narrative example

A
  • Maternal grandmother died, age 86, stroke, maternal grandfather alive and well, age 90
  • Paternal grandmother, 72, diabetes with heart attack at age 65.Paternal grandfather, 76, alive & well
  • Dad alive and well, age 54.
  • Mom, 50, had ovarian cancer 3 years ago
  • Twin sisters, 26, alive and well
  • 1 brother, 24, with arthritis from sports injury
  • Pt. age 30, admitted with appendicitis. Divorced from husband last year. 2 year old boy and 3 y.o. girl at home alive and well.
29
Q

Review of Systems

A

A detailed, system by system assessment of past, resolved, and current health problems:

  • Health problems, past & present, system by system:
    • Examples: food intolerance, joint pain, orthopnea, menstrual history
  • Health maintenance practices:
    • Examples: dentist visits, self breast exams
  • Health promotion practices:
    • Examples: sunscreen, safety helmets

“The purpose of this section is:

  1. to evaluate the past & present health state of each body system,
  2. to double check in case any significant data were omitted in the present illness section, &
  3. to evaluate health promotion practices”

Begins with general overview, including height & weight.
ALWAYS look at the two together.
Look at unplanned loss or gain.

30
Q

Guidelines for documentation

A
  • Subjective data: ALWAYS use this format and quotes:
    • Patient states, “I have a stomach ache”
  • “yes”, “no”, or “none”
  • You rarely can use N/A (Not Applicable) unless it’s really not possible.
    • Example: menstrual cycle in a 2 year old girl or elderly man
31
Q

Guidelines for documentation

A
  • Do:
    • Write neatly/ legibly, use black ink or type in EHR
    • Date and time at top of all notes
    • Proper spelling, terminology.
    • Only approved abbreviations
    • Quotes around anything said
    • STAY OBJECTIVE!!!
    • Be complete
    • No blanks. Do corrections as per institution policy
    • Sign “..SN, University of Massachusetts, Amherst”
32
Q

Guidelines for documentation

A
  • Do NOT
    • Use biased statements, judge or offer opinions
    • Argue in chart
    • Suggest unsafe practice/ errors. Only subjective and objective data observed by you!
    • Use improper abbreviations
    • Use white-out
33
Q

SOAP

A
  • Subjective: What you are told. Cannot OBSERVE this information
  • Objective: What you can see, hear, feel, smell, or measure, or can be quantifiably noted or measured
  • Assessment: Your impressions or conclusions are about the information you collected
  • Plan: What you plan to do with or about the information collected