FOUR Types of Assessment
FOUR Types of Assessment
FOUR Types of Assessment
Initial assessment – performed within specified time after admission or to evaluate the
client’s health status, to identify functional health patterns that are problematic, and to
provide an in-depth, comprehensive database, which is critical for evaluating changes in the
client’s health status in subsequent assessments.
Ex: nursing admission assessment
the process of identifying an individual's learning and support needs to enable the design of
an individual learning plan which will provide the structure for their learning.
PALPATION -
Palpation requires you to touch the patient with different parts of your hands, using varying degrees of
pressure. Because your hands are your tools, keep your fingernails short and your hands warm. Wear
gloves when palpating mucous membranes or areas in contact with body fluids. Palpate tender areas last.
Example:
Percussion: Percussion involves tapping the body to elicit sounds and determining whether the sounds are
appropriate for a particular organ or to help you locate organ borders or area of the body that also identifies
organ shape and position.
Example: For example, the percussion sounds can tell you if the organ is Air filled (e.g., lungs) Fluid filled
(e.g., bladder and stomach) and Dense (e.g., liver)
Auscultation - it is the medical term for using a stethoscope to listen to the sounds inside of your body
during a physical examination to listen the sounds of your heart, lungs arteries and abdomen.
EXAMPLE: examining the circulatory system and respiratory system (heart sounds and breath sounds), as
well as the gastrointestinal system (bowel sounds) are auscultated with a stethoscope. The sounds that are
heard with auscultation are classified and described according to their duration, pitch, intensity and quality.