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NURS6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
Effective communication is vital to constructing an accurate and detailed patient history. A patient’s health or illness is influenced by many factors, including age, gender, ethnicity, and environmental setting. As an advanced practice nurse, you must be aware of these factors and tailor your communication techniques accordingly. Doing so will not only help you establish rapport with your patients, but it will also enable you to more effectively gather the information needed to assess your patients’ health risks. NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
For this Discussion, you will take on the role of a clinician who is building a health history for one of the following new patients:
With the information presented in Chapter 1 in mind, consider the following:
Post a description of the interview and communication techniques you would use with your selected patient. Explain why you would use these techniques. Identify the risk assessment instrument you selected, and justify why it would be applicable to the selected patient. Provide at least five targeted questions you would ask the patient. NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days who selected a different patient than you, using one or more of the following approaches:
When seeking to identify a patient’s health condition, advanced practice nurses can use a diverse selection of diagnostic tests and assessment tools; however, different factors affect the validity and reliability of the results produced by these tests or tools. Nurses must be aware of these factors in order to select the most appropriate test or tool and to accurately interpret the results.
In this Discussion, you will consider the validity and reliability of different assessment tools and diagnostic tests. You will explore issues such as sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
Review this week’s Learning Resources, and consider the factors that impact the validity and reliability of various assessment tools and diagnostic tests. NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
Select one of the following assessment tools or diagnostic tests to explore for the purposes of this Discussion:
Physical tests for sore throat (inspecting the throat, palpating the head and neck lymph nodes, listening to breath sounds)
Search the Walden Library and credible sources for resources explaining the tool or test you selected.
Post a description of how the assessment tool or diagnostic test you selected is used in health care. Based on your research, evaluate the test or the tool’s validity and reliability, and explain any issues with sensitivity, reliability, and predictive values. Include references in appropriate APA formatting.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses. NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
Respond to at least one of your colleagues who selected a different tool or test than you, using one or more of the following approaches:
Critique your colleague’s evaluation of the validity and reliability of the tool or test selected. NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
Suggest alternative or additional tools or tests that should be considered when gathering information about specific conditions or symptoms.
In May 2012, Alice Randall wrote an article for The New York Times on the cultural factors that encouraged black women to maintain a weight above what is considered healthy. Randall explained—from her observations and her personal experience as a black woman—that many African-American communities and cultures consider women who are overweight to be more beautiful and desirable than women at a healthier weight. As she put it, “Many black women are fat because we want to be” (Randall, 2012). NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
Randall’s statements sparked a great deal of controversy and debate; however, they emphasize an underlying reality in the health care field: different populations, cultures, and groups have diverse beliefs and practices that impact their health. Nurses and health care professionals should be aware of this reality and adapt their health assessment techniques and recommendations to accommodate diversity. NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
In this Discussion, you will consider different socioeconomic, spiritual, lifestyle, and other cultural factors that should be taken into considerations when building a health history for patients with diverse backgrounds. NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
Subjective Data
CC: “I came for my annual physical exam, but do not want to be a burden to my daughter.”
History of Present Illness (HPI): At-risk 86-year-old Asian male – who is physically and financially dependent on his daughter, a single mother who has little time or money for her father’s health needs.
PMH: hypertension (HTN), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), b12 deficiency and chronic prostatitis
PSH: S/P cholecystectomy
Drug Hx:
Current Meds: Lisinopril 10mg daily, Prilosec 20mg daily, B12 injections monthly, and cipro 100mg daily.
Review of Systems (ROS)
General: + weight loss of 25 lbs over the past year; no recent fatigue, fever or chills.
Head, eyes, ears, nose & throat (HEENT): no changes in vision or hearing, no difficulty chewing or swallowing.
Neck: no pain or injury
Respiratory:
CV:
GI:
GU: no urinary hesitancy or change in urine stream
Integument: multiple bruises on his upper arms and back.
MS/Neuro: + falls x 2 within the last 6 months; no syncopal episodes or dizziness
Psych:
Objective Data
PE: B/P 188/96; Pulse 89; RR 16; Temp 99.0; Ht 5,6; wt 110; BMI 17.8
HEENT: Atraumatic, normocephalic, PERRLA, EOMI, arcus senilus bilaterally, conjunctiva and sclera clear, nares patent, ornasopharynx clear, edentulous.
Lungs: CTA AP&L
Cor: S1S2 without rub or gallop
Abd: benign, normoactive bowel sounds x 4
Ext: no cyanosis, clubbing or edema
Integument: multiple bruises in different stages of healing – on his upper arms and back.
Neuro: No obvious deformities, CN grossly intact II-XII
Subjective Data
CC: “I am here for my annual physical exam and have been having vaginal discharge.”
History of Present Illness (HPI): 32-year-old pregnant lesbian – her pregnancy has been without complication thus far. She has been receiving prenatal care from an obstetrician. She received sperm from a local sperm bank. NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
Drug Hx:
Current Medications: prenatal vitamins and takes Tylenol over the counter for aches and pains on occasion
Family Hx: She a strong family history of diabetes. Gravida 1; Para 0; Abortions 0.
Review of Systems (ROS)
General: no fatigue, fever or chills.
Head, eyes, ears, nose & throat (HEENT):
Neck: no pain or injury
Respiratory:
CV:
GI:
GU:
Integument: multiple piercings, and tattoos. Old scars related to “cutting”.
Neuro: no syncopal episodes or dizziness, no change in memory or thinking patterns; no twitches or abnormal movements
Objective Data
PE: B/P 128/76; Pulse 83; RR 16; Temp 99.0; Ht 5,6; wt 128; BMI 20.98
HEENT: Atraumatic, normocephalic, PERRLA, EOMI, conjunctiva and sclera clear; nares patent, ornasopharynx clear, good dentition. Piercing in her right nostril and lower lip. NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
Lungs: CTA AP&L
Cor: S1S2 without rub or gallop
Abd: benign, normoactive bowel sounds x 4
GU: external genitalia intact, no lesions or masses. White copious discharge with an amine odor; no cervical motion tenderness; adenxa intact.
Ext: no cyanosis, clubbing or edema
Integument: intact without lesions masses or rashes.
Neuro: No obvious deficits and CN grossly intact II-XII
Subjective Data
CC: “Annual physical exam”
History of Present Illness (HPI): 23-year-old Native American male comes in to see you because he has been having anxiety and wants something to help him. He has been smoking “pot” and says he drinks to help him too. He tells you he is afraid that he will not get into Heaven if he continues in this lifestyle. NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
Drug Hx:
Current medication – denied
Allergies: no allergies to food or medications.
Family history: is very positive for diabetes, hypertension, and alcoholism.
Review of Systems (ROS)
General: no recent weight gains of losses, fatigue, fever or chills.
Head, eyes, ears, nose & throat (HEENT):
Neck:
Respiratory:
CV: no chest discomfort or palpitations
GI:
GU:
Integument: history of eczema – not active
MS/Neuro: no syncopal episodes or dizziness, no change in memory or thinking patterns; no twitches or abnormal movements. NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History
Psych:
Objective Data
PE: B/P 158/90; Pulse 88; RR 18; Temp 99.2; Ht 5,7; wt 208; BMI 32.6
General: 23 year old male appears well developed and well nourished. He is anxious – pacing in the room and fidgeting, but in no acute distress.
HEENT: Atraumatic, normocephalic, PERRLA, EOMI, sclera with mild icterus, nares patent, ornasopharynx clear, poor dentition – multiple carries.
Lungs: CTA AP&L
Cor: S1S2, +II/VI holosystolic murmur; without rub or gallop
Abd: benign, normoactive bowel sounds x 4; Hepatomegaly 2cm below the costal margin.
Ext: no cyanosis, clubbing or edema
Integument: intact without lesions masses or rashes.
Neuro: No obvious deficits and CN grossly intact II-XII
Reflect on your experiences as a nurse and on the information provided in this week’s Learning Resources on diversity issues in health assessments.
Post an explanation of the specific socioeconomic, spiritual, lifestyle, and other cultural factors associated with the patient you selected. Explain the issues that you would need to be sensitive to when interacting with the patient, and why. Provide at least five targeted questions you would ask the patient to build his or her health history and to assess his or her health risks.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
Respond on or before Day 6 to at leastone of your colleagues who selected a different patient than you, using one or more of the following approaches:
Suggest additional socioeconomic, spiritual, lifestyle, and other cultural factors related to the patient.
Critique your colleague’s targeted questions, and explain how the patient might interpret these questions. Explain whether any of the questions would apply to your patient, and why.
NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion: Building a Health History