Health Assessment (A)
In the prescribed video, the patient report having had a series of palpitations that were accompanied by a light-headed feeling. With the problem that the patient presents, there exist several health assessment methods that the registered nurse can make use of to conduct a physical assessment on the patient. The health assessment methods that are a priority for this individual patient owing to their presented condition are inspection, palpation, and auscultation (Baker et al., 2020). In a typical health assessment examination, inspection involves conducting an assessment of a patient’s body system such senses like smell, vision, and hearing to try and identify abnormalities and any other forms of deviations. In this particular assessment method, the nurse is supposed to examine for texture, movement, different odors, and symmetry. Additionally, a nurse also ought to check for various sounds and inflammation when assessing the patient.
The other most suitable health assessment that the nurse ought to use in examining the patient’s palpitation, in this case, is palpation (Cosgrave, Klingaman, & Gehrman, 2020). This particular method of assessment requires that the nurse in charge touch the patient with their hands i.e., different parts of their hands while at the same time using varying degrees of pressure to do so (Cox, 2019). In this particular method of health assessment, the hands are the most fundamental tool of the nurse, and as such, the nurse should ensure that they keep their nails short and warm. There exist several palpation methods, but each technique of palpation is ideal for a variety of instances and scenarios. In the case of palpations, the other health assessment that is priority is auscultation. Auscultation is a health assessment technique that takes into account listening for different heart, lung, and different bowel by making use of a stethoscope. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
For this method to be effective, a nurse ought to provide a quiet environment and ensure that the specific area that needs to be auscultated is sufficiently exposed. Based on the underlying pathophysiology of palpitations, the various mechanisms that bring about the sensation of pulsation remain unclear (Estes, Calleja, Theobald, & Harvey, 2019). Palpitations in any patient typically show different changes to the patient’s cardiac rhythm and rate. With this in mind, inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation would be the most ideal and relevant methods of assessing a patient that has experienced episodes of palpitations. When it comes to inspection, this is one of the most suited health assessment methods for detecting palpations given that almost all palpitations involve an increased rhythmic activity characterized by an increased beat of the heart (Rebeiro, Wilson, Scully & Jack, 2013).
As such, assessing the body’s movement and any other sounds that it produces, as in the case of inspection, would be the most suitable and valid method of evaluating the patient’s problem (Rebeiro, Wilson, Scully & Jack, 2013). Palpation is an accurate and relevant method of assessing for palpitations, given that this condition involves the pounding of the heart and a flip-flopping sensation. By touching the patient’s heart with one’s hands and applying a considerable amount of pressure as in the case of palpation, a nurse can effectively identify symptoms that are associated with palpations (Mandel, 2019). Through touching and feeling for symptoms, a nurse can conveniently feel heart palpations in a patient’s neck and throat. The other ideal method of palpation assessment in a patient is auscultation. Auscultation is an excellent and appropriate criterion for assessing palpitations, given that palpations can easily be detected using a stethoscope. This is convenient given that typical palpations produce a sound that can be felt using a stethoscope.
B
In nursing, a system-based approach is one that makes use of scientific knowledge and understanding to try and comprehend the different elements that affect the outcomes of healthcare (Rebeiro, Wilson, Scully & Jack, 2013). Despite trying to understand the consequences of healthcare, a system based approach copies the correlations that exist between such elements. It effectively alters policies and processes to produce much better health outcomes at a relatively lower cost (Lusk & Melnyk, 2020). The health assessment scenario in the prescribed video makes use of various health assessment scenarios to assess the health of the patient. As a beginning level nurse, I would undertake the percussion health assessment examination for the same health assessment scenario and with the same patient. For these assessment criteria, I would make use of a system based approach is given that I would require applying various scientific insights with the method of assessment.
By making use of the percussion health assessment criteria, I would try to feel for different organ and body parts positions that might be displayed symptoms of palpitations. After successfully identifying the parts that might be showing signs of palpitations, the next system based approach would be to use various systems resources to provide the most effective care for this individual patient (Brady, McCabe & McCann, 2013). Other than using the various healthcare assessments in concluding the patient’s ailment, different scientific insights and elements would be most suited to effectively diagnosing the healthcare issue that the patient is suffering from. Additionally, it will provide a comprehensive analysis of what ought to be done to improve the healthcare outcomes of these individual patients. Using the given healthcare assessment criteria and the system-based approach to healthcare would facilitate me in efficiently understanding what influences the health outcomes of the patient as well as modeling the relationship between such elements identified.
There exist several similarities and differences when it comes to the use of both a system-based approach and the physical health assessment criteria. The physical assessment criteria that the RN uses in the video compares to the system based strategy that I would use with the same patient in several ways. First and foremost, both methods are aimed at increasing the quality of patient care outcomes (Gawlik, Melnyk, & Teall, 2020). Both the system-based approach and the physical assessment approach to healthcare are aimed at increasing patient safety by ensuring the best possible patient outcomes. In both the system based method and the health assessment method that the RN used in the video, nurses have to be in contact with the patient and interact with such patients to effectively identify the issue at hand and identify its likely cause.
Despite the similarities, both methods have varying degrees of differences. In the physical assessment and evaluation of the patient’s condition, the registered nurse does most of the work of probing the patient and trying to identify the etiology of the issue. On the other hand, when using the system-based approach, the nurse relies on a variety of scientific insights and other experimental elements to sufficiently establish the root cause of the health issue at hand (Green, 2016). Studies indicate that the system-based approach to healthcare is more effective when compared to the physical assessment of the patient as often; this method produces more quality patient healthcare outcomes. Lastly, the system based approach saves on time that would have been otherwise spent on questioning the patient to identify their problem as in the case of the physical assessment approach.
References
Baker, M., Moots, H., Yarberry, S., McAuley, M., & Martini, K. (2020). Approach to the physical examination: General survey and assessment of vital signs. Evidence-Based Physical Examination. https://doi.org/10.1891/9780826164544.0005
Brady, A., McCabe, C., & McCann, M. (2013). Fundamentals of medical-surgical nursing: A systems approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Cosgrave, J., Klingaman, E. A., & Gehrman, P. (2020). Effectively assessing sleep and circadian rhythms in psychosis. A Clinical Introduction to Psychosis, 245-272. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-815012-2.00011-0
Cox, C. L. (2019). Physical assessment for nurses and healthcare professionals. John Wiley & Sons.
Estes, M. E., Calleja, P., Theobald, K., & Harvey, T. (2019). Health assessment and physical examination. Cengage AU.
Green, V. (2016). Evidence-based nursing-A crucial approach. Nursing & Care Open Access Journal, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.15406/ncoaj.2016.01.00007
Gawlik, K., Melnyk, B. M., & Teall, A. M. (2020). Approach to evidence-based assessment of health and well-being. Evidence-Based Physical Examination. https://doi.org/10.1891/9780826164544.0001
Lusk, P., & Melnyk, B. M. (2020). Evidence-based evaluation of mental health. Evidence-Based Physical Examination. https://doi.org/10.1891/9780826164544.0022
Mandel, D. (2019). Assessing and communicating uncertainty effectively in a rapidly changing world. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3441329
Rebeiro, G., Wilson, D., Scully, N., & Jack, L. (2013). Fundamentals of nursing: Clinical skills workbook 2nd Edition. Elsevier.