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Discussion

Percussion

Is percussion a frequently used assessment technique? I'm an LPN student and have not used it in clinicals, but as an LPN in practice will I ever really have to/ need to use percussion ?

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    I'm wondering that too. We seemed to skip right over it in school.

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    Not too many staff do it. On occ, I will percuss abdomens; I don't try chest sounds. With abdominal percussion, I can better distinguish what I see externally and when I auscultate bowel sounds.

    It is a lost art and people will look at me funny when I do it sometimes.

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    Vintage skill. If a doc is concerned about fluid collections somewhere the patient gets and xray or an ultrasound or a CT scan.

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    AFAIK, I learned it in PN school, but was instructed that LPNs did not percuss and was considered an advanced part of the assessment process; in my BSN program, we learned how to percuss, as well as other advanced assessments that I have and needed to use as an RN.

    So in short, no percuss as a LPN per scope; yes as an RN.

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    • Experts

    I worked for four years as an LVN and never once percussed a patient. LPNs in the US inspect, auscultate and palpate as part of their data collection.

    I have been an RN since 2010 and I do not percuss patients. However, I am currently taking an advanced health assessment course since it is part of the curriculum of the online RN-to-BSN completion program in which I am enrolled, and it has been quite a refresher on the different percussion techniques (direct, indirect, etc).

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    I have never used it.

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