NR 304-week-2-edapt - Introduction to Gastrointestinal Assessment

Chronic gastrointestinal diseases affect up to 20 million people in the United States and are responsible for 25% of all surgical procedures (GI Alliance, 2021). In fact, digestive diseases represent one of the nation's most serious health problems in terms of discomfort and pain, personal expenditures for treatment, working hours lost, and mortality. Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Although rates have been declining due to early detection and treatment, the rates in people younger than 55 years old have steadily increased by 2% per year (Siegel et al., 2020). By completing this lesson, you will gain the knowledge and skills needed to:  analyze health assessment findings to identify cues associated with alterations of gastrointestinal health  utilize critical thinking to perform focused assessments based on subjective and objective data  assess the gastrointestinal system using inspection, auscultation, and palpation  distinguish betwee