Interview & Subjective Data
This type of data is reported directly by the patient.
What is subjective data?
This cranial nerve is responsible for the sense of smell.
What is Cranial Nerve I (Olfactory)?
This cranial nerve controls vision.
What is Cranial Nerve II (Optic)?
This vital sign reflects arterial pressure during heart contraction and relaxation.
What is blood pressure?
This is the most reliable indicator of pain.
What is the patient’s self-report?
This type of question encourages patients to describe symptoms in their own words.
What is an open-ended question?
This cranial nerve controls lateral eye movement.
What is Cranial Nerve VI (Abducens)?
During a neurologic assessment, the nurse notes pupils that constrict briskly when exposed to light and when focusing on a near object, with equal size and shape bilaterally; this finding is documented using this acronym.
What is PERRLA?
This instrument, consisting of a cuff and pressure gauge, is used along with a stethoscope to measure systolic and diastolic pressure during manual assessment.
What is a sphygmomanometer?
Pain lasting longer than 3–6 months is classified as this.
What is chronic pain?
This part of the interview includes past illnesses, surgeries, and hospitalizations.
What is past health history?
This cranial nerve provides facial sensation and controls chewing muscles.
What is Cranial Nerve V (Trigeminal)?
This age-related eye condition is caused by clouding of the eye’s lens, leading to progressively blurred vision, glare sensitivity, and faded color perception.
What are cataracts?
A blood pressure reading of 88/54 mmHg in an adult patient would be documented as this abnormal condition, indicating decreased perfusion risk.
What is hypotension?
This scale is often the pain scale of choice in pediatric patients and uses facial expressions to measure pain intensity.
What is the Wong-Baker FACES scale?
This framework helps organize symptom analysis (location, duration, characteristics, etc.).
What is OLDCARTS (or COLDSPA)?
This cranial nerve controls most eye movements and pupil constriction.
What is Cranial Nerve III (Oculomotor)?
This eye condition involves increased intraocular pressure that can damage the optic nerve and may lead to gradual loss of peripheral vision or acute eye pain with halos around lights.
What is glaucoma?
A resting heart rate of 48 beats per minute in an adult, if not expected for the patient’s condition, is classified as this abnormal finding.
What is bradycardia?
Pain from internal organs is called this.
What is visceral pain?
This is the first step of physical assessment, focusing on overall appearance and behavior.
What is the general survey?
This cranial nerve allows the eye to move downward and inward.
What is Cranial Nerve IV (Trochlear)?
These three cranial nerves control functions like swallowing, shoulder movement, and tongue movement.
What are Cranial Nerves X (Vagus), XI (Accessory), and XII (Hypoglossal)?
This vital sign assessment involves counting breaths for a full minute while observing chest movement, noting both rate and the quality of chest expansion to determine this parameter.
What is the respiratory rate and depth?
This type of pain results from activation of pain receptors due to tissue injury or inflammation and is often described as aching or throbbing.
What is nociceptive pain?