ADVANCED HEALTH ASSESSMENT AND
DIAGNOSTIC REASONING 2026
COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT
◉ Subjective Data. Answer: Information reported directly by the
patient.
◉ Objective Data. Answer: Findings from physical exams and tests.
◉ Clinical Reasoning. Answer: Acknowledgment of variables in
clinical situations.
◉ Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). Answer: Using research evidence
to guide clinical decisions.
◉ Diagnostic Process. Answer: Steps to identify patient concerns
and symptoms.
◉ Chief Concern. Answer: Primary reason for the patient's visit.
◉ Symptom Analysis. Answer: Exploration of presenting symptoms
through questioning.
,◉ OLDCARTS. Answer: Mnemonic for assessing symptoms: Onset,
Location, etc.
◉ Review of Symptoms (ROS). Answer: Patient's perception of
symptoms and their meaning.
◉ Physical Exam. Answer: Assessment can be complete or focused.
◉ Hypothesis Formulation. Answer: Creating a likely diagnosis
based on knowledge.
◉ Coherence. Answer: Links between disease and patient's findings.
◉ Adequacy. Answer: Disease explains patient's normal and
abnormal findings.
◉ Parsimony. Answer: Treatment must be acceptable to the patient.
◉ Diagnostic Probability. Answer: Testing confirms the proposed
diagnosis.
, ◉ Competing Hypothesis. Answer: Other diseases explaining the
patient's symptoms.
◉ Demographics. Answer: Patient's age, race, gender, affecting risk
assessment.
◉ Vital Signs. Answer: Measurements like BP, HR, and temperature.
◉ Symptom Clusters. Answer: Grouping symptoms related to
specific diagnoses.
◉ Expert Practitioners. Answer: Identify important cues in patient
assessments.
◉ Patient Orientation. Answer: Assessment of patient's awareness
and mental status.
◉ Gold-standard technique. Answer: Advanced assessment method
for accurate diagnosis.
◉ Differential diagnosis. Answer: Identifying competing diagnoses
through specific testing.
DIAGNOSTIC REASONING 2026
COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT
◉ Subjective Data. Answer: Information reported directly by the
patient.
◉ Objective Data. Answer: Findings from physical exams and tests.
◉ Clinical Reasoning. Answer: Acknowledgment of variables in
clinical situations.
◉ Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). Answer: Using research evidence
to guide clinical decisions.
◉ Diagnostic Process. Answer: Steps to identify patient concerns
and symptoms.
◉ Chief Concern. Answer: Primary reason for the patient's visit.
◉ Symptom Analysis. Answer: Exploration of presenting symptoms
through questioning.
,◉ OLDCARTS. Answer: Mnemonic for assessing symptoms: Onset,
Location, etc.
◉ Review of Symptoms (ROS). Answer: Patient's perception of
symptoms and their meaning.
◉ Physical Exam. Answer: Assessment can be complete or focused.
◉ Hypothesis Formulation. Answer: Creating a likely diagnosis
based on knowledge.
◉ Coherence. Answer: Links between disease and patient's findings.
◉ Adequacy. Answer: Disease explains patient's normal and
abnormal findings.
◉ Parsimony. Answer: Treatment must be acceptable to the patient.
◉ Diagnostic Probability. Answer: Testing confirms the proposed
diagnosis.
, ◉ Competing Hypothesis. Answer: Other diseases explaining the
patient's symptoms.
◉ Demographics. Answer: Patient's age, race, gender, affecting risk
assessment.
◉ Vital Signs. Answer: Measurements like BP, HR, and temperature.
◉ Symptom Clusters. Answer: Grouping symptoms related to
specific diagnoses.
◉ Expert Practitioners. Answer: Identify important cues in patient
assessments.
◉ Patient Orientation. Answer: Assessment of patient's awareness
and mental status.
◉ Gold-standard technique. Answer: Advanced assessment method
for accurate diagnosis.
◉ Differential diagnosis. Answer: Identifying competing diagnoses
through specific testing.
