PATIENT HEALTH ASSESSMENT- A DYNAMIC PROCESS IN PATIENT CARE
- Prof. (Dr) Usha
- Jun 16, 2023
- 3 min read
Patient Health assessment is a very important medical procedure and often first step in identifying the patient's problem. Health assessment helps to identify the medical need of patients/clients. Patients’ health is assessed by conducting physical examination of patient. A thorough or comprehensive patient health assessment is an important first step in developing a treatment plan to deliver the best patient care. Patient Health assessments are a key part of a nurse's role and responsibility. The assessment is a tool to learn about a patient's/client’s concerns, symptoms, and overall health.
Health Assessment is a vital process of gathering and organizing comprehensive data including physiological, psychological, socioeconomic, social determinants of health, spiritual and lifestyle information. It helps a great deal in establishing nursing diagnoses, which in turn, is employed to develop nursing care plans that aim to improve health outcomes of patients/clients. With the increase in chronic medical conditions and the growing elderly population, learning how to be in tune with unique patient characteristics is an important component of health assessment. The approach to conducting a comprehensive health assessment must be refined with focus upon critical thinking skills. It is essential for students to understand and address vital issues related to health when conducting assessments on different populations, such as pediatric and geriatric patients or with patients with specific disease conditions and family dynamics.
Patient Health assessment is a dynamic and most essential process in nursing practice. The process of patient health assessment involves the collection, verification, and organization of information about a patient/client within a specific health-care context. Patient Health Assessment is an integral component of the nurse’s role and responsibility while providing safe and professional care to the patients/clients. It is therefore the nurse’s professional responsibility to ensure the required knowledge and skill competencies. Regular review of various competencies enhances and strengthens safe and competent nursing practice. Patient health assessment is carried out to provide a service to assist the patient achieve or maintain optimal health. Assessments are carried out upon patient admission, occurrence of any health problem, alterations in health status, etc. Various members of the healthcare team including nurses and doctors, physiotherapists, and nutritionists carry out patient health assessments. Their findings are very valuable to render the best available treatment management to patients/clients.
The patient health assessment process is an ongoing practice of gathering, validating, storing, or organizing information about a patient within a particular context. The process starts with the first nurse-patient encounter and continues throughout the nurse-patient relationship. Nurses use a systematic organized approach to complete an assessment that attends to all aspects of health status which include physiological, functional, and psychosocial domains of the patient. The major elements of an assessment include patient health history/interview and physical examination using a holistic approach while attending to patient's physiologic / functional / psychosocial / cultural spheres. A comprehensive assessment includes a general survey, vital signs, height and weight and evaluation of all organs and body systems including psychosocial aspects. A robust process of patient health assessment emphasizes upon health status, environment, strengths and limitations as well as on the person’s cultural beliefs and practices.
Patient health assessment is a deliberate and/or accompanying activity. Assessment provides an individualized patient database from which the nurse identifies the patient's health status, collaborates, and contributes to the plan of care and reviews, makes decisions regarding the selection and implementation of appropriate nursing interventions; reports and records with an intent to assist the patient to achieve or to maintain best possible health. In modern times, prevailing complex medical conditions, especially in elderly population, the shift to value-based healthcare, and the health industry moving to a proactive healthcare, is placing an emphasis on patient health assessments to identify prospects of screening for preventative care and promote healthier lifestyles. Hence, the proper knowledge and skills to perform patient health assessment helps students advance to leadership roles with efficient communication and great critical thinking skills, knowledge of medical ethics and laws, conflict resolution, and quality development of health services to patients/clients.
The Health Assessment program/Training at Springfield College provides students with knowledge, information and skills in area of patient health assessment. The program is designed to assist health professionals to refine their assessment skills in order to acquire data to complete health history and physical examination of various adult patients. The content will focus upon patient health history, culture and diversity, interviewing, mental status, communication and nurse-patient relationships, safety, cultural beliefs and values. Physical and psychosocial assessment of body systems like respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, nervous and genitourinary will be examined across the lifespan.
For details of the Patient Health Assessment program and the best training-
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