Assessment of the Heart, Lungs, and Peripheral Vascular System
Take a moment to observe your breathing. Notice the sensation of your chest expanding as air flows into your lungs. Feel your chest contract as you exhale. How might this experience be different for someone with chronic lung disease or someone experiencing an asthma attack?
In order to adequately assess the chest region of a patient, nurses need to be aware of a patient\'s history, potential abnormal findings, and what physical exams and diagnostic tests should be conducted to determine the causes and severity of abnormalities.
In this Discussion, you will consider how a patient\'s initial symptoms can result in very different diagnoses when further assessment is conducted.
Note: By Day 1 of this week, your Instructor will have assigned you to one of the following specific case studies for this Discussion. Also, your Discussion post should be in the Episodic/Focused SOAP Note format, rather than the traditional narrative style Discussion posting format. Refer to Chapter 2 of the Sullivan text and the Episodic/Focused SOAP Template in the Week 5 Learning Resources for guidance. Remember that all Episodic/Focused SOAP notes have specific data included in every patient case.
To prepare:
With regard to the case study you were assigned:
Review this week\'s Learning Resources and consider the insights they provide.
Consider what history would be necessary to collect from the patient.
Consider what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be appropriate to gather more information about the patient\'s condition. How would the results be used to make a diagnosis?
Identify at least five possible conditions that may be considered in a differential diagnosis for the patient.
Note: Before you submit your initial post, replace the subject line (\"Discussion - Week 6\") with \"Review of Case Study\" identifying the number of the case study you were assigned.
By Day 3
Post an episodic/focused note about the patient in the case study to which you were assigned using the episodic/focused note template provided in week 5 resources. Provide evidence from the literature to support diagnostic tests that would be appropriate for each case. List five different possible conditions for the patient\'s differential diagnosis and justify why you selected each.
Assigned Case study:
Case 3: Focused Ear Exam
Martha brings her 11-year old grandson, James, to your clinic to have his right ear checked. He has complained to her about a mild earache for the past two days. His grandmother believes that he feels warm but did not verify this with a thermometer. James states that the pain was worse while he was falling asleep and that it was harder for him to hear. When you begin basic assessments, you notice that James has a prominent tan. When you ask him how he\'s been spending his summer, James responds that he\'s been spending a lot of time in the pool
