need help w/ head-to-toe assessment.....

JRD2002 · Apr 25, 2008

Just keep practicing. I find it helps if you work out a system and try to follow it step by step and don't skip around on the body. BTW assessments in practice are usually much more specific depending on the condition of the patient. Rarely have I ever had to do a complete physical type assessment on someone out of nursing school.

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2008

First of all, welcome to allnurses!!

Secondly, check out this thread: Health Assessment Resources, Techniques, and Forms

Lots of great information and links there. Good luck to you!

illidan01 · Apr 25, 2008

That was a great web link - thank you! :yeah:

gaajr1, RN · Apr 25, 2008

Hello and welcome to All Nurses!

I too have an assessment class and our finals are in about 2 weeks. I practice as many times as possible on different people (family and friends), as if they were your real patients. Talk to them as you move along each step, just like you would with a patient. Did your instructor give you the assessment sheet that you would be using for your finals? If so, keep it in front and move along. Also, just like someone suggested, follow the step by step approach and don't skip around.

Good luck!

Cappyy · Apr 25, 2008

Firstof all, only practice is going to do the trick. But to help get over the nervousness ask someone who is supportive but you are a little nervous assessing, let's say your Mother-in-Law for example. This will help you learn to focus in a stress situation. Of course don't tell her that. :nono: Good Luck!

cynrod · Apr 25, 2008

thanks for the feedback and resources everyone!!! very helpful and i truly appreciate it!!! im gonna be doing alot of practicing this weekend... :wink2: thanks again!

MB37 · Apr 29, 2008

What I did when I had to learn was each day at clinical I'd take a single notecard out. I'd get out my big "physical assessment" form and I'd copy the main assessments, esp what I usually forgot, in really small print onto my notecard, which I'd divide into skin/HEENT/resp/CV/etc. I'd just set it on the overbed table. After I did a system or two, I'd glance at my notecard real quick and cross off everything I'd done. If I forgot something I went back to it right away. Then I moved on. I usually didn't forget the same thing twice (and ours were REALLY detailed). I also think that rewriting it each day helped me remember. When it came time to do our big head to toe on our partner for the final, I wrote it out on another notecard. I practiced on my husband and on the cats (although they think my expesive stethoscope is a cat toy...), going through my script every time. I even recorded myself talking myself through each step, since we were timed. Then I played it back so I could hear all the parts where I couldn't remember what to do next, and then tried again.

I think I got a 99 on that head to toe final, and my preceptors consistently wrote, "great assessment skills!" on my eval forms all through med-surg and ICU rotations. Now, our instructor doesn't still make us perform a Weber and a Rinne on every single pt, but I know where they would go if there was a reason to do them. Keep practicing on people/animals/willing victims at home, and do as much as you can on your pts. One day I got a pt in for DKA who was about my age and bored, so she let me and one of classmates practice on her all day and kind of had fun with it. I am still bad at deep tendon reflexes though...

sugarsweet21612 · Apr 29, 2008

my instructors gave us a sheet with all we had to do for the head-to-toe. i rearranged the sheet and typed it up in the order i would do it, stating for example: ears- inspect... palpate pinna, tragus, mastoid process, etc, going down the body. for example, i wanted to do the lymph nodes and pulses at different places than where they were listed on my instructors sheet, same with neurological. for the things that i was more unsure of, i added more info about it on the sheet, cranial nerves for example. after i rearranged the info the way i wanted to do it, it was much easier to practice. i had my lab final today and i got 100% so i guess it worked! good luck!

Nrsstudent09 · Apr 30, 2008

I just had my head to toe assessment in my Health Assessment Class. If you go onto youtube and type in head to toe assessment it will bring up a 6 part video of everything. It was very helpful for my exam. Good Luck

Daytonite, BSN, RN · May 3, 2008

here are some links on doing a head-to-toe nursing assessment:

http://nursing.uthscsa.edu/diagnostic_basic_head-toe_6307.htm
http://www.delmarlearning.com/companions/content/0766822257/apps/appb3.pdf - example of a head to toe assessment
http://faculty.weber.edu/jkelly/nursing_3030.htm
http://www.cotc.edu/fdavis/clinical/assessment%20-%20head-to-toe.doc
http://www.healthmad.com/home-health/general-health-assessment.28952
http://free-ed.net/sweethaven/medtech/nursefund/default.asp?inum=3&franum=060105 - components of a physical assessment
http://www.medtrng.com/blackboard/basic_nursing_assessment.htm

RheatherN, ASN, RN, EMT-P · May 4, 2008

i didnt read every post, but i wanted to add this: when i went to clinicals we had this little laminated thing for 2 diff hospitals we went to about assessments & what is impt to them especially. i still have em, if you would like i could type them out and get them to you. just let me know. they really helped me. i did my full assessment, but was able to have a starting point for when i did go into rooms. and i would flat out tell the pt that i am new and i really didnt want to miss anything, so i would be using a cheat sheet. they always thought that was cool, and we usually ended up talking about it. most ppl were impressed that i was up front and honest about it!

in time you will get your own down, but it takes time.

we have all been there

GL!

-H-