Head To Toe Assessment Paper

Hi Terry. Nice initial post and I enjoyed reading it. I learned to gather my data accurately and perform the head-to-toe assessment thoroughly. The data that we gather during assessment should be factual and complete to provide diagnostic reasoning, decisions, and proper treatments for patients (Jarvis, 2012). I definitely agree with you, the Shadow Health Assessment with Ms. Tina Jones was also my biggest moment from this course. She was surely challenging, but I would say it was worth it. The comprehensive assessment was difficult and I spent hours in order for me to complete the assignment. I enjoyed doing the assessments of each system. I learned the importance of documenting accurately, clearly, and concisely. In addition to that, the

It can sometimes be too late. I have learned over some years by watching those that mean a lot to me let their lives become of nothing because they do not worry about their physical appearance or the foods that they eat, and even though you can give them all the advice to try and persuade them they are determined to do what they feel and what they want to do.

Due to weaken immune system, declining organ function, poor sensory perception, and multiple prescribed and over the counter medications, and comorbidities elderly patients are at risk for infections. For many elderly patients the possibility of developing an infection is extremely high, on account of hospitalization or living in long-term care facilities. The most common type of infection acquired in these facilities is urinary tract infections. A urinary tract infection most likely affects the bladder or urethra; more serious urinary tract infections occur in the kidneys. There may be symptoms such as urinary urgency or frequency, but in other cases there are no symptoms at all. This urine infection is caused by gram-negative sepsis.

As people get old a few of them will experience changes in cognition with age related capacity rather than intellectual capacity. There are some people who get both disparities of mentally and physically impaired that will led into depression due to aging process of their body. Even though, the forgetfulness is a common among older adults, we as healthcare providers must evaluate altered mental status of the patients. “The evaluation and management of altered mental status are broad and require careful history and physical examination to eliminate life-threatening situations”(Patti & Dulebohn, 2017). Therefore, it is very important to recognize the importance of difference between normal age-related symptoms and developing new health problems that can arise in this specific population. As elders get older their memory lapses it frustrating to them leading them to be more worried about changes in their memory. Nurses have a unique capability to promote a cognitive health and determine the possibilities of potential cases of the impairment in elders. The movie “On Golden Pond” Mr. Norman was a perfect example and showed that his symptoms were interfering with his everyday live when he almost burns down the house with fire, calling Bill by his daughter’s name Chelsea and getting lost in on the lake. Even though, Mr. Norman had heart and dementia problems his wife never discouraged him to do what he liked such as

The patient’s previous function should always be considered so as to know how far the patient has deteriorated and thus be able to consider the decline as either normal or abnormal. Nevertheless, Nathan also mentioned this, saying that older people are not afforded the same history and investigation as younger ones, thus driving basically the same point home. Older patients are discharged quickly without even being properly treated, consequently making their ailment become worse as time passes. We cannot just assume that what a patient is going through is normal and thus unimportant, rather the authors make it clear that we should give older people the same options, care, and patience that we offer to the younger

M.C. is a 4 week old Caucasian male and was assessed on 2/3/2015. M.C. was awake and crying in his mother’s arms. He appeared to be well-nourished, well developed and in distress. M.C.’s mother stated his full name and date of birth, which matched his ID band. His mother was sitting in the hospital bed holding him in her arms and attempting to comfort him. His father was laying on the couch in the room. A complete head to toe assessment was not done during this time but the following results were obtained based on a focused assessment. M.C. was on contact-droplet isolation. M.C. had a temperature of 37.2C, his blood pressure was 33/47 with a MAP of 68 taken on his left leg. His respirations were 40 breaths per minute with an oxygen saturation of 100%. His pulse was 178 beats per minute. M.C. was on room air and had a PIV located in his left hand. There was no presence of tubes or drains. Pain was not assessed at this time however, M.C. was fussy and crying. The anterior and posterior fontanels were inspected. The anterior fontanel was soft and flat. M.C.’s lung sounds were clear to auscultation. His mother reported that he had some nasal congestion but had no

In the field of social work, the intake form is typically the first interaction between the client and the social worker. An intake form allows the practitioner to gather and analyze information regarding the potential client, in order to determine if the agency can meet their presenting needs. Intake forms differ depending on the setting, but all should assess the numerous systems that affect the client and their presenting problem.

Patient J.B. presented the office with chief complaints of coughs and sore throat that lasted about seven days. These symptoms are typically seen in respiratory tract infection or inflammation that is caused by viruses or bacteria. The initial differential diagnoses included Influenza, cough, common cold, community-acquired pneumonia, acute bronchitis, acute pharyngitis, and postnasal drip syndrome based on the chief complaints. The reason that why these differential diagnoses were considered is because they all have coughs as the symptom. Some of these differential diagnoses have both coughs and sore throat. JD, et al. (2017) states that Influenza A or B viruses can cause a dry cough and sore throat. Troullos,

The B.A.T clinical team met with Lukas, his parents, Mr. Josh Sherfey and Mrs. Melissa Sherfey, and his brother Logan on October 3rd, 2016, at their home. On this date the clinical team conducted an indirect functional assessment, which consisted of a parent interview and a review of ABA services in relation to Lukas. The clinical team gathered information regarding Lukas’s history (as outlined in the section above) and inquired about the challenges they encounter, including and behaviors that are of concern.

Geriatrics is a branch of medicine that specializes in the health of the elderly persons in the society, with the primary goal of promoting their health through the prevention and treatment of various diseases and disabilities. There is no established age limit medically at which a patient is termed geriatric, but the decision is largely guided by the needs of a particular person and the availability of a geriatrician. The elderly persons in the society are always victims of various chronic and severe acute diseases, some of which are incurable and end up killing these patients in a painful manner (Cassidy, 2010). Some of the diseases that these elderly people suffer from include incontinence, loss of memory, immobility,

After a full head-to-toe assessment revealed no other abnormalities other than two teeth on the verge of eruption, I would take the time to explain to the mother that the child would not require antibiotics at this time. Education would be provided on the signs and symptoms of teething and how this can appear similar to other infections. Teething is a natural occurring process that can lead parents to worry about more serious illnesses (Plutzer, Spencer, & Keirse, 2010). Investigation further revealed that many health care workers could not pinpoint the signs and symptoms of teething. Children can present with a low-grade fever, diarrhea, sleeplessness, pulling at ears from jaw pain, fussiness and increased drooling while teething.

To prevent misdiagnoses, it is important for health care professionals to learn to distinguish between aging changes and signs and symptoms of disease.

What do you believe are the primary purposes of community organizations, social service agencies or other government agencies?

As nurses, we are the frontline advocates for our elderly patient, because the patient might be reluctant to share information about the abuse they are experiencing. When doing head to toe assessments nurses are in a position to see signs of abuse of medication, physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse. These type pf abuse can be seen through skin assessment; finding of bedsores (pressure sore, decubitus ulcers), bruises, broken bone, poor hygiene, dehydration over or under medication, and an overgrown nail are really good indicator of abuse. There is also mental cues for abuse such as, depression, sudden change of behavior, fearfulness, anxiety, and confusion. Most of these findings are objective, but it can be hard to obtain subjective

I enjoyed reading your post. I agree that when conducting a comprehensive assessment, it depends on what area of the hospital you work in. I work in the PACU, assessing a patient is much different than when I worked in the ICU. When I worked in the ICU, I would gather the necessary information from the ED and conduct my initial assessment based on prior documentation. I would do a complete head to toe assessment and physical assessment. For example, assessing a patient’s skin completely for pressure ulcers was mandatory. Working in the PACU, our patient usually receives a telephone interview prior to their surgery, which entails obtaining medical and surgical history, medication, support systems, allergies, living arrangements, etc.