General Survey Flashcards
What is a general survey?
Study of the whole person covering general health state and any obvious physical characteristics
List the characteristics assessed in a general survey.
- Physical appearance
- Body structure
- Mobility/gait
- Behavior
What types of data are included in health history?
- Subjective data
- Objective data
What are the technical skills required for physical examination?
- Inspection
- Palpation
- Percussion
- Auscultation
- Olfaction
What is the first step in physical examination?
Inspection
What is required for effective inspection?
- Good lighting
- Adequate exposure
- Occasional use of instruments
What does palpation assess?
- Texture
- Temperature
- Moisture
- Organ location and size
- Swelling
- Vibration or pulsation
- Rigidity or spasticity
- Crepitation
- Presence of lumps or masses
- Presence of tenderness or pain
What is percussion used for?
- Maps location and size of organs
- Signals density of a structure
- Detects superficial abnormal mass
- Elicits pain if underlying structure is inflamed
- Elicits deep tendon reflex
What is auscultation?
Listening to sounds either unassisted or with a stethoscope
True or False: Hand hygiene is the single most important step to decrease microorganism transmission.
True
When should hand hygiene be performed?
- Before and after physical contact with each patient
- After contact with blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions
- After any contact with equipment contaminated with body fluids
- After removing gloves
Fill in the blank: The goal of reducing anxiety during patient care is to become _______.
[confident, self-assured, considerate, and unhurried]
What are anticipated changes in the aging adult?
- Physical appearance
- Posture
- Gait
- Weight
- Height
- Vital Signs
What is Spector’s Heritage Assessment?
A cultural assessment tool used for providing holistic care
What should a nurse do if there is not sufficient time to gather all cultural assessment information?
Prioritize essential questions and gather information as time permits
