HELP with Heath Assessment!

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi ,

Does anyone have any tips, mnemonics, good books, anything to help with health assessments?

Also, any good web sites to listen to heart sounds?

Thanks!

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hmmm

"ape to man" is all that I can think of. It is to memorize the points on the chest where you will auscultate the heart tones.

A= aortic valve (second intercostal space on the right)

P= pulmonic valve (second intercostal space on the left)

E= erb's point (a good spot to hear heart murmurs so listen with the bell here too) 3rd intercostal space on the left

T=Tricuspid valve (5th intercostal space on the left)

M= Mitral valve (5th intercostal space at the midclavicular line)

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Hi! Don't forget the OLDCART! For pain assessment

Onset - When did it start?

Location - Where is the pain?

Duration - How long does it last?

Characteristics - Is it dull, aching, throbbing, stabbing?

Aggravating factors - What makes it worse?

Relieving factors - What makes it better?

Treatment - Pharmalogical or non-pharmalogical methods

Good luck!

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

in the nursing student assistance forum you will find the following sticky threads with links to mnemonics and health assessment

here are websites where you can listen to heart sounds:

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We learned "always pay the man." Aortic, Pulmonic, Tricuspid, Mitral.

It's kind of sexist but it works.;)

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Specializes in Cardiac.

Oh, I learned it as "all physcians take money"!

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I Bought "Health Assessment Made Incredibly Visual" from Books a Million, I believe Barnes and Nobles has it also, and so does amazon.com and half.com, I found it very helpful, it covers all the topics, integumentary, ect, with lots and lots of pictures, and some cartoons, it kept me interested in the subject, and I still refer back to it

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Another one for pain assessment is PQRSTU:

Palliative/Provoke - What brings the pain on? What makes it better? What makes it worse?

Quality of pain - Describe what it feels like: is the pain burning, sharp, dull, etc.?

Region/Radiating - Where is the pain? Is the pain in only one area, or has it spread?

Severity - How severe is the pain? On a scale of 1-10, rate your pain.

Temporal - Timing: Onset, duration, and frequency of the pain.

U - Patient's understanding/perception. What does this pain mean to "U"?

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I am still in nursing school. I am a VISUAL learner, if I see it (not words) like an action or a picture, it is stuck in my head for good. My husband knows this and went on a book excursion to Barnes & Noble and found me some visual books. One is called Mosby's Assessment Memory NoteCards....Visual, Mnemonic, and Memory Aids for Nurses. There are some FUNNY pictures and GREAT mnemonics, believe it or not they are sticking in my head and I have only had the book for a week. It is small, not much larger than my hand and is great to look at while waiting in line or stuff like that. I have another one of Mosby's for pharmacology that seems to be really good too.

Good luck.

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Hi ,

Does anyone have any tips, mnemonics, good books, anything to help with health assessments?

Also, any good web sites to listen to heart sounds?

Thanks!

Here is the good site to listen heart sound

http://depts.washington.edu/physdx/heart/demo.html

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