Assessment is one of the first steps in becoming a nurse. From the time we enter nursing school we are taught to assess. Whether we are formulating a nursing care plan or rendering bedside care to a patient, assessment skills are, in my opinion, one of the most important foundation skills to master in the profession of nursing.
      "Assessment is the collection of data about an individual's health state (Jarvis, 2008)". This statement seems so simple, but in reality what I learned during the course of the semester was that assessment is not limited to just the physical being, but also includes culture, values, family and support networks, as well as the ability of the patient to care for self. These factors must be assessed in order to follow a holistic model of care (Jarvis, 2008).
      Although this task seemed insurmountable initially, I realized that the way in which I typically assess patients could provide a more holistic approach by integrating some of the techniques I learned in this class. I normally have conversations with my patients while I assess them, and I found that if I asked them about their lives as I went about the physical aspect of the exam, I could learn much about how they were feeling and what support systems they had available to them.
      While it is important to take into account the whole picture of the patient when assessing their health, it is paramount to have assessment skills refined to the highest level because in the hospital, the nurse is the only health care professional who is continually available at the bedside (Jarvis, 2008). I find this idea to be true to my practice. As much as I enjoy learning about the people I care for and what makes them "tick", that information is of little use to me if I am unable to render appropriate care which is based on my initial physical assessment of the patient.
      I felt that this class helped to reinforce and strengthen skills I had previously learned, such as heart and lung sounds, and expanded my knowledge of areas I less frequently assessed, like the hair and nails. I found the textbook in this class to be exceptionally useful for my learning, most notably because of the sheer volume of pictures to refer to, and I have kept this text for my collection. I think the skills I learned over the course of the semester will help me when I continue my education because this class touched on areas that I do not normally assess at length while in the surgical setting, such as the eyes and ears. Additionally, I have all my focused exam videos to look back on if I should need them in the future.

References:
Jarvis, C. (2008). Physical examination & health assessment (5th ed.). St. Louis: Saunders Elsevier.