Patient Positions
This position has the patient lying flat on their back
supine
This type of approach is useful for building rapport & establishing trust with the patient.
non-directive
Information reported by the patient, such as “I feel dizzy,” is this type of data
subjective
This assessment technique involves using multiple senses
observation
Deciding if a patient’s blood pressure of 88/52 is low involves this interpretation skill
comparing data to normal values
In this position, the head of the bed is raised 45–60 degrees to promote lung expansion
Fowlers
This highly structured technique elicits information about specific topics
Directive
Information observed or measured by the nurse, such as blood pressure, is this type of data.
Objective data
Listening to body sounds with a stethoscope is called this
Auscultation
Grouping findings of wheezing, cough, and dyspnea together represents this process
clustering data
This position has the patient lying on their back with knees bent and feet flat, often used for pelvic exams.
dorsal recumbent
Asking “Can you tell me more about that?” is an example of this type of question
open ended question
The EMR or family reports are considered what type of data?
Secondary
Gently feeling with the fingertips is this technique
palpation
The nurse identifies abnormal heart sounds during auscultation; this is an example of this step in critical thinking.
recognizing cues
In this position, the head of the bed is raised 90 degrees
High Fowlers
This interviewing technique helps explore unclear statements by the patient, such as “What do you mean by ‘tired’?”
clarification
The single best source of primary data
the patient
This technique uses tapping on the body to evaluate underlying structures
percussion
Determining that a patient’s shortness of breath may be related to fluid overload shows this type of reasoning
clinical reasoning
This position, with the patient flat on their abdomen, is useful for examining the back
Prone
When performing an interview maintaining this is essential for building trust
privacy
the process of gathering information about a patients health history
data collection
The nurse should examine patients from the _____ invasive to the ____ invasive
least - most
the nurse must apply this to every stage of the assessment process
critical thinking