The art and science of nursing is largely dependent on the nurse’s ability to recognize signs, symptoms, and dynamic changes that occur during the process of the carative relationship between the patient and nurse. Thus, it is a necessity to develop assessment skills as a practicing nurse in order to make educated, insightful, and accurate diagnoses of a patient’s condition whether that condition is acute, chronic, or critical. The Advanced Health Assessment course that was provided through the curriculum of the BSN program gave a solid foundation upon which to base an increasingly proficient nursing practice by building on the knowledge base that was attained through the A.D.N. program. The skills that were learned increased my overall competency as a nurse and are a boon to my unit and the patients I take care of daily.

     Upon review of the course overall, I can see how holistic the education provided was. The first lessons challenged us to consider cultural aspects unique to each individual that help to consider the diversity of the patients that may be encountered and how to best approach those patients to provide care tailored to their needs. Knowing what is acceptable in one culture and what is not acceptable, not only allows us to take into account different homeopathic remedies and their potential effects on the patient, but gives us an opportunity as nurses to gain patient trust by showing respect for cultural considerations. Cultural competency also allows us to provide sensitive interviews to our patients so we can collect the most pertinent facts about the patient and their condition. Going on through the assessment process, I also learned how important it is to collect thorough health histories, the tact required and the necessity to perform sensitive screenings for such things as domestic violence.

    Though this first part of conducting an assessment is a crucial component of the comprehensive health assessment, I was finally glad to get into the “meat and potatoes” of assessment- the physical assessment. I learned something new and interesting through each one of the systems that we covered as part of our health assessment. For example, I had never realized there was so much information that could be gleaned from the assessment of a patient’s hair, skin, or nails or how not recognizing certain things on the skin or nails might allow the advancement of carcinogenic disease processes. Perhaps one of the greatest things about the Health Assessment course overall, besides learning to use the ophthalmoscope, is that it helped me to confirm how intimately connected all of the systems within our bodies are to one another and how fragile they can be when acted upon by external factors or systems, like the environment.

     Overall, I would say I have deeply benefited from the lessons in assessment gleaned from our coursework. I now have skills that are more closely akin to those of a mid-level practitioner. I think this is important and something that all RNs should embrace in order to thrive. As a result of the skills I have learned in the health assessment course, I have moved closer to becoming a nurse leader and educator. I have already begun to pass along some of the information I have learned to other nurses, some who have more experience and some less, to the benefit of them, my unit, and me. Patients benefit from the educated nurse who has skills advanced beyond that of the RN based upon evidence-based practices because disease processes can be caught earlier by the nurse armed with more information. I know this to be true already as the demand for more Baccalaureate trained nurses becomes the norm across our country and as a greater majority of Nurse Practitioners are challenged to take on roles of primary providers for an ever growing population of patients with a diminished number of physicians available to act in this stead.