How to Conduct a Nursing Head-to-Toe Assessment?

How to Conduct a Nursing Head-to-Toe Assessment?

Learning new nursing practices involves perfection in head-to-toe assessments. For Anchwitz (2019), head to toe assessments is one of the many important components of grasping a patient's issue and medical problems. Nursing programs and courses in Australia offer a variety of nursing skill programs to equip future nurses with all necessary skills required in the medical industry. Performing a head-to-toe assessment is perhaps one of the most basic skills required to be a nurse. Clinton (2020) further states the importance of this inquiry in developing care perceptions of how nurses interpret the human body's physical, emotional and mental states. For several nursing students, it is a complex challenge that involves several issues. Online Assignment Expert provides the best nursing assignment help services all over Australia. Our experts with years of nursing experience have found the best possible means to draft your head-to-toe assessment under their assignment help Sydney medical branch. We've put together important elements that help in drafting your head-to-toe assessments through their inputs.

Defining a Head-to-Toe Assessment

A head-to-toe assessment in the nursing world is directed to the corporeal inspection or well-being valuation, and it is an important component of taking into account an ill patient’s illnesses, requirements, or deficits. You can become a part of our nursing assignment to help the community get our experts' best nursing educational resources.

Types of Head-to-Toe Assessment

According to Zucchero (2019), several types of head-to-toe nursing assessments can be performed:

• Holistic health assessment: This detailed examination generally requires a complete and thorough health history for a holistic and complete head-to-toe physical exam. It requires formulating an assessment plan which registered nurses are required to conduct for patients that are being admitted into medical centers, hospital or clinics. For nurses that practice on advanced and independent levels, providing a holistic and total nursing assessment is a regular form of medical practice in the form of nursing medical practice.
• Specialized assessment based on specific care goals: Different sets of assessments are carried out for the different nursing specializations, such as ICU care or maternal care nursing. As there are different diasporas which require customized nursing care objectives, valuations are usually based on a specific physique scheme, such as respirational or cardiac. It targets specific sections of the human body to address the care unit for a specific issue. A requirement that the head-to-toe assessment fulfils is an important medical prerequisite for efficient nursing practice.

Preparation for a head-to-toe assessment

Zucchero (2019) states that the preparation of a head-to-toe assessment requires standard procedures for clinical settings, along with adoption of precautionary measures that must be adopted to ensure a safe clinical experience between the nurse and patient. Therefore, it is imperative that the main goalmouth of adopting typical clinical defenses is to avert any unusual blood or body fluids discharge through application of safe and sanitary measures, including hand hygiene, and careful handling of potentially contaminated equipment or surfaces. Moreover, there is a need to fulfil the equipment checklist to be prepared for medical procedures such as:

• Gloves
• Scale
• Tape Measure
• Penlight
• Watch
• Stethoscope
• Height wall ruler
• Thermometer
• Blood pressure cuff

 Additional equipment for more comprehensive examinations would include,

• Ophthalmoscope
• Otoscope
• Tongue Hammer
• Reflex Hammer
• A shrill thing like that of a toothpick
• Ophthalmoscope

1. Beginning the Head-to-Toe Assessment

When beginning the assessment, it is extremely important to establish a personal relationship with the patient as a gesture of trust and respect for a healthy medical checkup process. Further, our medical experts from the assignment help Sydney indicate that it is an important medical attempt to assess the condition of the patient and ensure that they are wearing the correct hospital outfits.

The process of starting your assessment begins with performing hygienic measures such as hand sanitization and then:

• Introduction of the nurse to the patient and explaining to them the assessment process
• Confirm the patient's details related to their mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.
• Assessing ABCs (airway, breathing, and circulation) before starting the detailed assessment

2. Assessment Objectives

While perusing the head-to-toe examination, it is extremely important to note major abnormal findings which nurses might come across, ranging from changes in normal respiratory rate or changes in skin color may indicate severe liver illnesses like anemia or jaundice.

Further, it is advised to ensure that the human body is symmetrical. If it is in an unusual asymmetrical shape, it indicates that the patient is suffering from one side and only has access to a specific set of movement, and if one side seems limp or disfigured from the other side; neurological or musculoskeletal issue could be an underlying issue to the patient’s condition.

3. Establishing a Relationship With the Patient 

To build a healthy relationship with the patient, the nurse must be welcoming in nature and provide any relative background experience of their expertise. Further, they must demonstrate what is being done to the patient so that the patient is prepared. This process acts as an appropriate moment for reviewing the objectivity of the assessment procedural forms.

Additional nursing procedures like building a close relationship and to talking about the patient's personal preferences while addressing the exam contributes to a healthy and trustworthy communication process. The patient would also feel comfortable under the presence of a close family or friend person in the room to provide them comfort. By doing this, nursing policies and provision go beyond professional services and help in a successful process.

Moreover, our experts at assignment help have suggested ways to deal with a combative or confused patient. The imperativeness of building a rapport helps engage the patient early and upsurges the chances that the patient will take more possession of their well-being and ongoing health requirements.

4. Paying Attention Towards Action Cues From the Patient

In the nursing field, certain professional measures must be adopted while the assessment process is ongoing. Thus, noticing unusual cues while the assessment process continues, including grunting during movement, grimacing with ambulation or fidgeting and being hesitant towards a particular assessment process is indicative of an issue. As a nurse it becomes your duty to recognize patterns of unusual actions which the patient might not be aware of. In away, nurses end up acting like detectives during patient visits to put together different findings, building medical records and establishing health priorities.

5. Reporting to the concerned patient or doctor any problem

This is an important part as it requires the reporting process of the problem to the doctor and the patient. Attempts should be made to address the patient’s issue as briefly as possible.

Thus, writing a head-to-toe assessment is an essential duty that nurses must fulfil to conduct medical examinations. At Online Assignment Experts, our experts with a background in nursing programs know several more such insights for conducting head-to-toe assessments. You can contact their assignment help Sydney team for more such insights, and avail the best nursing assignment help services in the world.