Assessment Techniques, Ch. 8 Flashcards
What is inspection?
Careful, thorough observation
What is the very first step of the assessment process?
Inspection
When does the Inspection process begin?
The moment you meet the individual?
Why do we compare the patients ride side and left side?
Looking for similarites, differences and symmetry?
We always want to use:
Good Lighting
What tools will we use?
Penlight, oto, ophthalmoscope
What can change sounds?
Listening over clothing
Palpation uses the sense of:
Touch
What do we assess during palpation?
-texture
-temperature
-moisture
-organ location and size
Can we determine the disease state of an organ by palpating?
No
What’s the Second step in Assessment?
Palpation
What can we detect during palpation?
-Swelling
-Vibration
-pulsation
-rigidity
-crepitation
-lump
-mass
-tenderness/pain
What is light palpation used for?
Used to detect surface Characteristics
What is deep palpation used for?
Use intermittent pressure to examine abdominal contents
What type of palpation do we start with?
Light and then go to deep
What do we use fingertips for during palpation?
fine discrimination such as: texture
-swelling
-pulsation
-presence of lumps
what do we use grasping action for during palpation?
Finger and thumb can be used to detect, Shape, Size and Consistency of an organ
What do we use the base of our fingers for during plapation?
Ulnar surface to detect vibration
What do we use the dorsum of our hands for during palpation?
Detect temperature changes
Why would we do Bimanual Palpation?
To Compare both sides
Why would we use the dorm of hand for temperature?
Thinner skin and more sensitive
During palpation we want to ask the patient if there are any tender areas and palpate these areas
Last
Why do we want to palpate tender areas last?
This could change vital signs
Flow of palpation
-top to bottom
-left to right
-simultaneously
-Compare symmetry