Physical Examination and Health Assessment [Hardcover]

I am a registered nurse with an Associates Degree in Nursing. I am currently enrolled at Governors State University with the goal of obtaining a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. I am presently taking a course in Health Assessment and the required textbook is Mosby's 2nd edition of Health and Physical Assessment. Within two weeks of the beginning of the course; a classmate and I decided the text was not thorough enough for our present level as nursing students with several years of nursing experience. We felt we needed a textbook which would enable us to enhance the skills we already possess and delve into the rationale for the procedures we have never had the opportunity to perform; but expect to in our future careers as Nurse Practicioners. Therefore we went to Rush University Bookstore today and were amazed at the variety of texts on this subject. We chose Physical Examination and Health Assessment by Carolyn Jarvis because of the marvelous text layout which seemed to have been prepared especially for nurses in our situation. Each chapter not only discusses the topic, but it explains the rationales of each assessment and expounds upon each subject and fully explains how to assess each system in depth. As an African American woman I can truly appreciate the time and effort that was taken to provide accurate, extensive information on the assessment of hair, skin, and nails of non-white patients. The transcultural highlights are excellent. The information reguarding the assessment of tatoos is also an excellent addition to current nursing textbooks because of its prevalence in our society. The section in each chapter on abnormal findings provides nursing students with a wonderful outlet to improve critical thinking skills. The need for the normal finding explanations cannot be overstated due to the focus of preventive nursing in this age. The illustrations in the text leave no doubt as to the appearance of certain primary lesions that have not been visualized in the clinical setting. The extent of information on labs performed in the nutritional assessment leave no stone unturned in evaluation of this critical area. The area on assessment of the head and neck provides a wealth of information on the complete assessment of the underlying structures through palpation of the overlying skin surfaces. I also admire the explanations included on the proper usage of the otoscope, opthalmoscope and tuning fork. The added Laboratory Manual and Pocket Companion are invaluable resources. I truly enjoyed learning about the author in the synopsis in the Pocket Companion. Her experience in a variety of areas were an added incentive for my purchase. Every area of the textbook was thoroughly used for providing invaluable information. Even the front inside cover gives commonly used translations from English to Spanish for patients nurses can no longer afford to ignore in any setting. The back inside cover acknowledges the importance of universal precautions in our current society. My classmate and I were very impressed also with the area on vital signs which expounded on the multiple reasons for inaccurate and erroneous blood pressure readings. How often have these problems affected the recorded vital signs? I could continue, but suffice it to say that this textbook will have a special place in my heart as well as on my desk for the remainder of my career. I sincerely thank the author, her contributors, and the publisher for such an innovative and pertinent text that will survive into the next millenium. BRAVO!

For anyone who needs to understand how to perform a physical examination and a health assessment on a client this is the book for you!!!! The text is well written, easy to understand and helpful in allowing you, the student to become efficient in P.E. ... chech this text out!!!!! MB

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