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INTRODUCTION
Physical
assessment is a fundamental nursing responsibility in all practice settings.
Taught by an experienced acute care
nurse practitioner, this seminar provides the participant an opportunity to
review, clarify, and expand his/her knowledge base related to physical
assessment of acutely ill patients.
To increase practical application, case
scenarios of patients with common diseases/disorders are included.
Pathophysiologic concepts are incorporated, which serve to emphasize the
significance of abnormal assessment findings and their relevance to clinical
decision making.
A sample of the
type of questions to be answered during this one-day program includes:
 | Upon
your initial contact with an unstable, critically ill patient, what
can you do in the first 5 minutes to establish a baseline and prepare
for any emergency that might occur?
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| A
postoperative patient calls you and complains of sudden shortness of
breath and dizziness, but no chest pain. What assessment findings do
you need in order to identify the priorities of care?
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| You
are caring for a patient 2 days post-MI who suddenly develops a 5/6
systolic ejection murmur. What might this indicate?
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| You
notice your patient's neck veins are distended. How do you assess the
degree of significance of this?
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| Under
what circumstances should you position your patient on his left side
and listen to his heart?
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| How
can you best describe and document abnormal breath sounds?
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| What
is the best way of inflicting painful stimuli to evaluate motor
response?
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| How
long should you listen before deciding your patient has "absent
bowel sounds"?
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Presented by:
Mary K.
Roberts,
R.N., M.S.N., ACNP
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