Week 7
discussion
Discussion: Assessing the Heart, Lungs, and Peripheral
Vascular System
Take a moment to observe your breathing. Notice the
sensation of your chest expanding as air flows into your lungs. Feel your chest
contract as you exhale. How might this experience be different for someone with
chronic lung disease or someone experiencing an asthma attack?
In order to adequately assess the chest region of a patient,
nurses need to be aware of a patient’s history, potential abnormal findings,
and what physical exams and diagnostic tests should be conducted to determine
the causes and severity of abnormalities.
In this Discussion, you will consider how a patient’s
initial symptoms can result in very different diagnoses when further assessment
is conducted.
Note: By Day 1 of this week, your Instructor will have
assigned you to one of the following specific case studies for this Discussion.
Also, your Discussion post should be in the Episodic/Focused SOAP Note format,
rather than the traditional narrative style Discussion posting format. Refer to
Chapter 2 of the Sullivan text and the Episodic/Focused SOAP Template in the
Week 5 Learning Resources for guidance. Remember that all Episodic/Focused SOAP
notes have specific data included in every patient case.
To prepare:
With regard to the case study you were assigned:
Review this week’s Learning Resources and consider the
insights they provide.
Consider what history would be necessary to collect from the
patient.
Consider what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be
appropriate to gather more information about the patient’s condition. How would
the results be used to make a diagnosis?
Identify at least five possible conditions that may be
considered in a differential diagnosis for the patient.
Note: Before you submit your initial post, replace the
subject line (“Discussion – Week 6”) with “Review of Case
Study” identifying the number of the case study you were assigned.
By Day 3
Post an episodic/focused note about the patient in the case
study to which you were assigned using the episodic/focused note template
provided in week 5 resources. Provide evidence from the literature to support
diagnostic tests that would be appropriate for each case. List five different
possible conditions for the patient’s differential diagnosis and justify why
you selected each.
Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your
initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’
postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link
and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post.
Remember, once you click on Submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts,
and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before
clicking on Submit!
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
By Day 6
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different
days who were assigned different case studies than you. Analyze the possible
conditions from your colleagues’ differential diagnoses. Determine which of the
conditions you would reject and why. Identify the most likely condition, and
justify your reasoning.
