Objective data please help understand..thnx

[jt2007]

I was told that if a patient tells you they have an allergy that this is subjective data, even IF the patient has tested positive to allergens.

Why is this subjective data if it has been proven by the testing before hand that they are postive?

Why would it not be objective data?

Thanks for your help in adavance!

[p_hawk]

It's sort of both... in so that the statement, "I am allergic to drug x" is the subjective data and the positive test results would be objective.

That being said, however, we rarely have access to that sort of test. In my experience, for the nurses the allergies are confirmed through pharmacy and through questioning the patient. So, say a patient is allergic to pcn. Would we have, in their records, an acutal test showing a reaction to pcn? Probably not. What we might have is a pmh of a reaction to pcn. Most likely what we'd have is a statement from the patient and/or their families that the patient is allergic to pcn. If they had been seen in the same facility previously more than likely it is already listed as part of their previous medical record.

Make any sense? I tend to ramble.. heh heh heh.

:)

Remembering that Objective data is something that we can OBSERVE helps me. Something measurable, like test results. If the patient states it, it's subjective.

[ParkerBC,MSN,RN, PhD, RN]

How I learned the difference is that everything the patient says is subjective. Objective data is information that has been proven to you. For example, lab values, diagnostic tests, and what you have witnessed proves the patient’s condition. So, in your example, the patient may say he/she is allergic to something (still subjective data although the patient is aware of his/her own allergies). Once the test comes back proving the allergen, the test becomes objective data (or proven data/information).

I hope this helps. I think of subjective data as “slippery” it can go in any direction whereas objective is “on it”