Health Assessment
By Dr. Akash Garg, DC, MS Pharmacology, MEd, MBA · Updated October 20, 2026
Head to toe, and the skills behind it. Free to read, practice and play, with no sign-up.
14chapters
70interactives
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Chapters
- 1The Nurse, Professional Practice and ScopeBecoming and Staying a Nurse, Scope, Delegation and the Team, Standards, Ethics and the Law at the Bedside
- 2The Nursing Process and Clinical JudgmentAssessment — Collecting Data You Can Defend, Analysis and Nursing Diagnosis — Turning Cues Into a Problem, Planning — Outcomes, Priorities and the Limits of Your Scope
- 3Communication, Documentation and HandoffTherapeutic Communication and the Nurse’s Presence, Speaking Up: SBAR, Red Flags and Closed-Loop Communication, Documentation: The Legal Record and How to Write It
- 4Safety, Asepsis and Infection PreventionA Culture of Safety and the Patient Environment, Microbes, the Chain of Infection and Assessing the Infected Patient, Hand Hygiene, Standard Precautions and PPE
- 5Vital SignsVital Signs as a System, Temperature, The Pulse, Respiration and Oxygen Saturation
- 6The Health History and the Therapeutic InterviewBefore You Speak: Preparing for the Interview, Therapeutic Communication: What Opens a Patient Up and What Shuts Them Down, The Complete Health History, Component by Component
- 7General Survey, Pain and Mental StatusThe General Survey and the Four Techniques, Pain: the Symptom Only the Patient Can Define, Mental Status and Level of Consciousness
- 8Assessing Skin, Hair and NailsThe Skin as an Organ You Can Actually See, Technique: How the Examination Is Actually Performed, Color, Lesions and Vascular Findings — Normal Beside Abnormal
Show all 14 chapters
- 9Assessing Head, Neck, Eyes, Ears, Nose and ThroatThe Head, Face and Neck, Assessing the Eyes, Assessing the Ears and Hearing, Nose, Sinuses, Mouth and Throat
- 10Assessing the Thorax and LungsLandmarks, Lobes and the Respiratory Baseline, Inspection and Palpation of the Thorax, Percussion and Diaphragmatic Excursion
- 11Assessing the Heart and Peripheral Vascular SystemThe Pump, the Cycle and the Cardiac Baseline, Inspecting and Palpating the Precordium and Neck Vessels, Auscultating the Heart: Normal Sounds, Extra Sounds and Murmurs
- 12Assessing the Abdomen, Nutrition and EliminationMapping the Abdomen and Setting Up the Exam, Inspection and Auscultation, Percussion, Palpation and Focused Maneuvers
- 13Assessing the Musculoskeletal and Neurologic SystemsThe Musculoskeletal Exam — Structure, Sequence and Strength, Region by Region — Spine, Limbs, Gait and the Neurovascular Check, The Neurologic Exam Begins — Consciousness, Cognition and Cranial Nerves
- 14Hygiene, Mobility, Skin Integrity and Core SkillsHygiene: The Most Thorough Assessment You Will Do All Shift, Mobility, Positioning and Safe Patient Handling, Falls, Restraints and the Least-Restrictive Envelope
Written by Dr. Akash Garg
Doctor of Chiropractic, MS in Pharmacology, MEd and MBA. Teaching college science since 2007.