General Survey

Question 1

What’s the difference between signs & symptoms?

Answer 1

Signs: actions or physical manifestations that are observable by someone other than the patient.
Symptoms: sensations, feelings or emotions that are perceived/experienced by the patient.

Question 2

What’s the difference between objective & subjective data?

Answer 2

Objective: information gathered by the physical examination that can seen, felt, heard or smelled by an observer.
Subjective: information reported by the patient - not measurable or quantifiable.

Question 3

List the 10 attributes of a sign of symptom.

Answer 3

Location.
Associated signs & symptoms.
Timing.
Environmental/exposure factors.
Relieving factors.
Severity/quantity: how bad/how much the concern is (ex: pain on a scale of 1-10, how much blood they think they’ve seen).
Nature/quality: what the symptom or sign is like (ex: what colour is a bruise, what kind of pain are they experiencing).
Aggravating factors.
Patient perspective: what they think is causing the problem.
Significance to patient: effects on patient’s wellbeing & lifestyle.

Question 4

What are some factors that we note during general survey? (11)

Answer 4

Overall appearance.
Hygiene, grooming & dress.
Skin colour & lesions.
Body structure & development.
Behaviour.
Facial expressions.
Level of consciousness.
Speech.
Posture.
Range of motion.
Gait.

Question 5

What is the objective of the general survey?

Answer 5

Forming a “global impression” of the patient and collect clues on their overall health.

Question 6

What are the components of a health history?

Answer 6

Date & time of the health history.
Demographical or identifying data (including reliability).
Reason for seeking care or chief concern.
Present illness (including sign/symptom analysis).
Past health history.
Medications.
Family history.
Personal & social history (+ growth/development for pediatric patients).
Review of systems.

Question 7

The patient is having crushing chest pain that he rates as an 8 on a 0-10. His blood pressure is 80/62. Which type of assessment should you perform?
A. Emergency.
B. Acute.
C. Focused.
D. Comprehensive.

Answer 7

A. Emergency.

Question 8

The history of present illness includes an assessment of:
A. location, intensity, duration, description, aggravating/alleviating factors, functional impairment & pain goal.
B. health perception, nutrition, elimination, activity, sleep, cognition, self-perception, roles, sexuality, coping & values.
C. feeding, bathing, toileting, dressing, grooming, mobility, home maintenance, shopping & cooking.
D. nutrition/hydration, skin/hair/nails, head/neck, eyes/ears, heart, peripheral vascular, breasts, abdominal, musculoskeletal, neurological, genitalia, rectum & endocrine/hematological.

Answer 8

A. location, intensity, duration, description, aggravating/alleviating factors, functional impairment & pain goal.

Question 9

The question "what are the most important things to you in life?" assesses the functional pattern related to:
A. role.
B. self-perception.
C. coping.
D. values.

Answer 9

D. values.

Question 10

To assess self-perception, ask the patient:
A. “how would you describe yourself?”
B. “are you having difficulty handling and family issues?”
C. “what gives you hope when times are troubled?”
D. “how do you usually deal with stress? is it effective?”

Answer 10

A. “how would you describe yourself?”