Running head: ASSESSMENT 1

Nursing Health Assessment

Lyubov Kirillov

Frostburg State University

ASSESSMENT 2

Nursing Health Assessment

The Essential IX: Baccalaureate Generalist Nursing Practice, obtained from American

Association of College of Nursing (AACN) (2008), describes that it is crucial for a nurse to inte-

grate the knowledge and skill obtained into clinical practice. A better example of an Essential IX

description is as follows: Because professional nurses are the human link between the patient

and the complex healthcare environment, they must provide compassionate care informed by

a scientific base of knowledge, including current evidence from nursing research. Knowledge ac-

quisition related to wellness, health promotion, illness, disease management and care of the dy-

ing is core to nursing practice. In addition, acquisition of communication and psychomotor skills

is critical to providing nursing care. (AACN, 2008, pp. 29-30).

Exemplar

The nursing process consists of 5 steps of the nursing process: assessment, diagnosis,

plan, implementation, and evaluation. Nursing assessment can be divided into two groups: sub-

jective and objective data. Subjective data is patients health history that comes directly from the

patient and objective data comes from laboratory results and diagnostic studies. Estes (2014)

gives a complete explanation of the nursing assessment:

assessment is the first step of the nursing process. It consists of the orderly collection

of information concerning the patients health status. The assessment process aims to

identify the patients current health status, actual and potential health problems, and

areas for health promotion. The sources of information, and diagnostic and laboratory

data. Collectively, these data constitute the nursing database from which the nurse

will develop a plan of care for the patient, and they see as a baseline against which

future comparisons can be made (Estes, 2014, p. 7).

ASSESSMENT 3

Nursing health assessment is one of the most important aspects of nursing. A competent

and knowledgeable nurse is able to interpret laboratory data and initiate treatment if she or he

finds that a patient requires intervention. For example, if a patient is suffering from congestive

heart failure and receiving diuretics as part of their treatment it is important for a nurse to moni-

tor their patients electrolytes. Diuretics not only will help eliminate some of the excess fluid

from the lungs, but also important electrolytes like potassium, and with low levels of potassium a

patient can suffer from dangerous dysrhythmias. By performing an assessment frequently, a

nurse can prevent some of the adverse reactions to medication or treatment.

Reflection

The are several examples of the exemplar Nursing Health Assessment that correlates

with the Essential IX. One of the examples, a nurse should be able to Conduct comprehen-

sive and focused physical, behavioral, psychological, spiritual, socioeconomic, and environmen-

tal assessments of health and illness parameters in patients, using developmentally and culturally

appropriate approaches. (AACN, 2008, p. 31). In other words, by performing an assessment a

nurse will have an understanding of the patients physiological, cultural and spiritual needs and

provide appropriate care to the patient. The second important example, a nurse should be able to

Deliver compassionate, patient-centered, evidence-based care that respects patient and family

preferences. (AACN, 31). By reviewing the Essential IX health assessment is the scientific base

knowledge that a nurse acquires through learning and practicing his or her skills. Disease man-

agement and prevention requires a nurse to monitor the health status of a patient. Nowadays,

most patients are educated about their disease process and this helps nurses involve the patient in

their plan of care and establish a therapeutic relationship. Caring and compassionate nurses help
ASSESSMENT 4

to shape the outcome of their patients care by implementing all 5 aspects of nursing care starting

with a health assessment.

ASSESSMENT 5

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. 2008. The essentials of baccalaureate education

for professional nursing practice. Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges

of Nursing.

Estes, M. E. (2014). Cultural Assessment. (5th ed.). Health assessment & physical examination.

(p. 7). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar.