HEALTH ASSESSMENT EXAM PRACTICE WITH ANSWERS

HEALTH ASSESSMENT EXAM PRACTICE WITH ANSWERS What does the health history provide? -CORRECT ANSWER- Subjective and objective data What is subjective data? what is an example? -CORRECT ANSWER- SD is what the patient tells you Example: headache, chest pain What is objective data? what is an example? -CORRECT ANSWER- OD are the signs perceived by the examiner through physical examination during assessment Example: rash seen by a nurse, or temp taken with a thermometer In what order are skills performed during a typical assessment? -CORRECT ANSWER- 1. Inspection 2. Palpation 3. Percussion 4. Auscultation If a patient has abdomen pain, what order do you do the assessment? Why? - CORRECT ANSWER- 1. Inspection 2. AUSCULTATION 3. Palpation 4. Percussion Because of pain, don't touch or tap the tender area first. Start by inspecting and then listening before you feel the area. What occurs during inspection, the first step? -CORRECT ANSWER- -ALWAYS COMES FIRST -begins when you first meet a person w/ a general survey -you should start assessment of each body system with inspection -requires: good lighting, adequate exposure, use of instruments including otoscope, opthalmoscope, penlight, or specula What occurs during palpation, the second step? -CORRECT ANSWER- Palpation applies sense of touch to assess Can include: temperature, texture, moisture, organ location and size, swelling, vibration or pulsation, rigidity or spasticity, crepitation, presence of lumps or masses, presence of tenderness or pain -use fingers unless taking temperature How can you assess factors during the palpation step? -CORRECT ANSWER- by using different parts of the hands During palpation, what should fingertips be used to feel? -CORRECT ANSWER- - best for fine tactile discrimination of skin texture, swelling, pulsation, and determining presence of lumps During palpation, what should fingers and thumb be used for? -CORRECT ANSWER- -detection of position, shape, and consistency of an organ or mass During palpation, what should the dorsa of hands and fingers be used for? -CORRECT ANSWER- -best for determining temperature because skin here is thinner than on palms During palpation, what should the base of fingers or the ulnar surface of hand be used for? -CORRECT ANSWER- -best for vibration **-vibrations are felt on the ulnar side of hand During palpation, what type of palpation should you start with and why? What steps are next? -CORRECT ANSWER- 1. start with LIGHT palpation to detect surface characteristics and accustom person to being touched -1 cm 2. then deeper palpations when needed -intermittent pressure better than one long continuous palpation -5 to 8 cm or 2-3 in ALSO: bimanual palpation- requires use of both hands to envelop or capture certain body parts or organs such as kidneys, uterus or adnexa for precise delimitation What occurs during percussion, the third step? -CORRECT ANSWER- -consists of tapping a person's skin with short, sharp strokes to assess underlying structures What uses does percussion have? -CORRECT ANSWER- -mapping location and size of organs -signaling density of a structure by a characteristic note -detecting a superficial abnormal mass 1. percussion vibrations penetrate about 5 cm deep 2. deeper mass would give no change in percussion -eliciting pain if underlying structure is inflamed