NURS 6512: Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning

NURS 6512: Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning

By Day 3 of Week 1

Submit your Assignment.

Discussion: Building a Health History

Effective communication is vital to building an accurate patient history. A patient’s health is affected by various factors, like age, gender, ethnicity, and environment. As a nurse practitioner, you must adjust your communication techniques accordingly. This helps you connect with patients and gather essential information for assessing their health risks.

For this Discussion, imagine you’re a clinician tasked with building a health history for a specific patient assigned by your Instructor.

To prepare:

1. By Day 1 of this week, your Instructor will assign you a new patient profile. Check the “Course Announcements” section for the assignment details.
2. Consider how your communication techniques would differ for each patient based on their unique characteristics.
3. Reflect on how you would tailor your questions to the patient’s social determinants of health.
4. Identify appropriate risk assessment tools or questions for each patient’s health risks.
5. Take note of any potential health-related risks based on the patient’s age, gender, ethnicity, or environment.
6. Choose a risk assessment instrument from Seidel’s Guide to Physical Examination (Chapter 1 or Chapter 5), or another familiar tool.
7. Develop at least five targeted questions to assess the patient’s health risks and begin building a health history.

By Day 3 of Week 1

Post a summary of the interview and describe the communication techniques you’d use with your assigned patient. Explain why you’d choose these techniques. Identify the selected risk assessment instrument and justify its applicability. Provide at least five targeted questions for the patient.

By Day 6 of Week 1

Respond to at least two colleagues who selected different patients. You can share additional interview techniques or suggest other health-related risks for consideration. Validate ideas with your own experiences and additional research.

(Note: For the Discussion, ensure your initial post is complete before viewing your colleagues’ responses.)

Week 2 Case Studies

In Week 2, your Instructor will assign you a case study related to your Discussion by Day 1 of the week. Make sure to check the “Course Announcements” section for your assigned case study. Plan ahead to review the case study and Learning Resources to complete your Discussions and Assignments on time.

Practicum – Upcoming Deadline

If you’re planning to take a practicum course within the next two terms, submit your application via Meditrek. Review practicum application process details and deadlines on the Field Experience: College of Nursing: Application Process – Graduate web page.