Review Questions

Review Questions

1. State the components that comprise a History and Physical (H&P).

A History and Physical includes:

* Date the History and Physical is done
* Demographic data (age, sex, race, place of birth, etc.)
* Source of referral
* Chief complaints: why seeking care now
* History of present illness
* Past history (previous medical conditions)
* current health status (current lifestyle depiction)
* Family history of illness
* Psychological history
* Review of all systems: height, weight, etc., and exam of head, neck, upper extremities, etc.

2. What does the phrase “Noting variances from the norm” mean?

It means the health care worker is preparing to look for, or has taken note of, some patient condition or situation that is not normal or usual, for example, a blood pressure reading that is higher than usual for a particular patient.

3. Why is it a critical function for the health care worker to be able to discriminate between normal and abnormal conditions and situations?

Learning to observe patients, their symptoms, and their actions and to ask appropriate questions provides vital information that can be used by health care workers to initiate timely interventions with the goal of providing safe and appropriate patient care.

4. What are sample questions to be asked to evaluate each of the body’s systems?

Many possible questions should be appropriate for each system and of the type illustrated in the text. The following are modeled after those given in the textbook:

* Musculoskeletal: ”Is there any discomfort with movement?”
* Integumentary: ”What is the status of the skin color?”
* Circulatory: ”What are the vital signs?”
* Respiratory: ”What are the respiratory rate and rhythm?”
* Digestive: ”When was the last bowel movement?”
* Urinary: ”What is the appearance of the urine?”
* Eyes: ”Is there any redness?”
* Ears: ”Is there any drainage from the ear?”
* Nervous: ”Is there any numbness?”
* Endocrine: broad, general questions, such as for diabetes
* Female reproductive: ”When did you last menstruate?”
* Male reproductive: ”Are there any sores on the penis?”

5. What does it mean to use a pain assessment scale?

The pain assessment scale is a subjective evaluation of the patient’s pain by the patient. Using a scale of 0 to 10, the patient is asked to rate his or her pain from no pain (0) to the worst imaginable pain (10), so subsequent treatment of the pain can be better and effectively evaluated by the patient receiving the treatment.

6. What are Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)?

ADLs are the actions done on a regular basis to meet everyday human physical needs, for example, eating, toileting, and shopping.

7. What are the different types of equipment for taking a temperature?

The different types of equipment for taking a temperature:

* Mercury
* Electronic
* Tympanic (aural)
* Chemical-dot

8. What is an apical-radial deficit?

An apical-radial deficit is the difference between the radial and apical pulse. An apical-radial deficit can be present in a number of cardiac conditions.

9. How do the vital signs vary over the life span?

Temperature control in the younger patient is less stable and runs higher than in adulthood. Pulse, respirations, and blood pressure all decrease as one ages. (Refer to Tables 20-1, 20-2, and 20-3.)

10. What are the steps in taking an accurate TPR and B/P?

TPR stands for temperature/pulse/respiration. B/P stands for blood pressure.

Temperature taking is described in Procedure 20-1; pulse taking is described in Procedures 20-2 and 20-3; respiration taking is described in Procedure 20-4; and blood pressure taking is described in Procedure 20-5

11. What problems may be indicated by a rapid weight gain in a patient?

A patient’s rapid weight gain may indicate cardiac and kidney conditions, which cause changes in body fluids and thus affect the total body weight.