Much of an archeologist’s work is done under the mantra “proceed with caution.” Archeologists must dutifully secure permissions to access sites. They also must exercise extreme caution when excavating or analyzing in a lab to avoid potential damage to historical artifacts.
Likewise, nurse practitioners must proceed with caution when building a patient’s health history. Important questions can be difficult for both nurse and patient. Care must be taken to approach such questions with dignity, tact, and respect to create an environment conducive to productive conversations.
For this Assignment, you will develop a script to be used to interview a volunteer serving in the role of patient.
To prepare:
- Review the Ewing (2004) questionnaire found in this week’s Learning Resources and consider the difficult questions you might have to ask when you take a patient’s health history.
- Review the screening tools found in the Learning Resources and consider how you might use an app or tool to assist in screening.
- Review the media programs related to a vaginal exam, pap test, and breast exam.
- Review the health history guide presented in Chapter 7 of the Schuiling & Likis (2022) text and consider how you would create your own script for building a health history. (Note: You will also find the Health History Form in Chapter 7)
- Describe the components of a complete gynecologic health history. Include considerations for special populations such as LGBTQ+ individuals.
- What health maintenance guidelines should be included for initial and follow up might be needed for follow-up assessments? (i.e., bone density test, Gardasil vaccine, shingles, etc.)?
- What questions would you consider in your patient’s assessment? For example
- What is your patient’s living situation?
- Do they have stairs?
- Do they live by themselves?
- Do they have a working refrigerator?
- Create your own script for building a health history and use the Health History Template for guidance (consider the type of language you would use to help your patient be more comfortable). As you create your script, consider the difficult questions you want to include in your script.
Assignment: (1- to 2-page reflection)
- In addition to your script for building a health history for this assignment, include a separate section called “Reflection” that includes the following:
- A brief summary of your experiences in developing and implementing your script during your health history.
- Explanations of what you might find difficult when asking these questions. What you found insightful and what would you say or do differently.
Reminder: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/57.htm). All papers submitted must use this formatting.