NURS 3397 - Health Assessment

Description

This course is a study of the advanced knowledge and skills beyond the Associates’ degree in Nursing, designed to enhance health assessment for nursing practice in the care of individuals across the lifespan. Theory and skills essential to completing a comprehensive and holistic health history and physical examination are emphasized. In addition, the holistic delivery of care will include cultural, spiritual, nutritional, alternative, complementary therapies, and health promotion for the delivery of safe and person-centered care. The importance of comprehensive and accurate documentation as a tool for effective communication amongst the interdisciplinary team is reviewed.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, students will be able to:

• Generate a plan of care based on a comprehensive health assessment through the identification of findings that would indicate a need for further evaluation or early reporting.
• Apply developmentally appropriate health assessment techniques in the holistic assessment of individuals across the life span with sensitivity and respect for the culture and diversity of the human experience.
• Examine evidence-based practice related to health promotion, health maintenance, and disease prevention strategies in the assessment of the individual.
• Demonstrate the importance of therapeutic communication skills in the interaction with patients, colleagues, and the interdisciplinary team through the communication, utilization, and documentation of the plan of care to individuals and/or family.
• Employ emerging technology and information management tools to inform decision-making in the delivery of care, including the organization, analysis, interpretation, and legally-defensible documentation of health assessment data.
• Integrate teaching and learning principles to enhance health promotion activities across the lifespan.