Is health assessment synonymous to physical examination?

[RN nadee]

Hello All,

My name is Nadie, This is my first time on allnurses.com. I am taking a Wellness Assessment class and our professor asked this question. Is health assessment synonymous to physical examination? In my mind they are the same thing? What is the correct answer.

[WolfpackRed]

Welcome to AN

i would say that the physical exam is a component of a health assessment. the definition of health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and i am paraphrasing, the components of health include: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

[Blu rose]

I wondered about it too. In my opinion, health assessment incorporates both, physical examination and the interview including health history of the patient conducted before the examination. If I am wrong, somebody please correct me..I am still a student.

[SeeTheMoon]

I am still a student as well, but I'm gonna run with wolfpack (pun intended. Ha!)

A physical exam is no doubt a component, but not complete. As stated, emotional and psychological aspects are important in health assessment too. (though they often carry varying physical symptoms.) Consider for example someone may be tip top physically, but quite emotionally disturbed, just for example.

[GM2RN]

I agree with everyone else. Another example: A person in seemingly good health with very poor eating habits. You assess that he/she may appear to be healthy now, but you know that problems are brewing based on food choices.

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

A health assessment would look at what the person does to stay healthy. A physical assessment would look at the actual, current health of the person.

[Guest27531]

Hello All,

My name is Nadie, This is my first time on allnurses.com. I am taking a Wellness Assessment class and our professor asked this question. Is health assessment synonymous to physical examination? In my mind they are the same thing? What is the correct answer.

No, they are not the same thing.

A physical exam is just what it says it is - an examination of the physical body. It may be a "complete" physical exam and include looking in the eyes (retinal exam), ears, throat, feeling the lymph nodes, auscultation of the lungs, abdomen, heart, palpation of the liver, looking at the skin, hair and nails, palpation of the prostate, etc or it may be a modified physical exams to assess a particular aspect of the body such as examination of a wound to assess wound healing, auscultation of the heart and lungs to determine whether there are abnormal sounds. The key is that it is an examination of the physical body.

A health assessment includes health history including symptoms (both physical and psychological). It has a much broader scope as an assessment tool. In practice it may include a complete physical exam, a modified physical exam, or no physical exam.

[JBudd, MSN]

Assessment is both objective (the physical part) and subjective (the history part).

Subjective has the biographical data, social systems, review of systems, and functional (with environmental) assessment in it; along with present health and history of presenting complaint, and past health.

[RN nadee]

I would like to thank everyone who responded to my post. The clarification was much needed and appreciated.

Have a good summer.

Nadee