The nursing instructor provides a syllabus that lists the course objectives, course dates and times, textbook chapters for the student to read prior to lectures and other pertinent information. During classroom lectures, the instructor clarifies concepts and answers student questions. Afterward, students practice newly learned skills in a simulated clinic. The nursing instructor generally divides the learning experience into periods of classroom lecture followed by periods of clinical practice. The instructor allows the students to develop nursing skills using either mannequins or human volunteers as subjects of examination.
The nursing process begins when the nurse meets the client. The nurse observes the client's appearance and reaction upon first contact; this is the beginning of the health assessment. She continues her assessment with an interview of the client. During the interview, the nurse records subjective data. This data consists of the client's description of symptoms and responses to injury. The nurse may ask questions such as, "What brings you to the hospital?" or "What are you most concerned about now?" to determine the client's injury, level of responsiveness and psychological or physical needs.
An interview includes the client's description of pain. The nursing instructor may promote the use of the acronym PQRST to assess pain. In using this acronym, the student nurse asks the client to describe the pain, quality/quantity of pain, whether the pain radiates or changes location, setting or severity of pain and timing or onset of the pain. The nurse also asks the client to rate the severity of pain based on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing the highest level of pain.
In the health assessment class, the student learns techniques for properly positioning the patient and collecting objective data, information based on her measurements and observations. The nursing instructor demonstrates how to use medical equipment to measure the client's breathing rate, heartbeat, reflexes, blood pressure and other indicators of health. The student also learns skills such as auscultation (listening to normal sounds such as the heartbeat), palpation (touching the patient and noting deformities or swelling) and percussion (tapping the patient to determine the condition of internal organs). The nursing student practices using health assessment tools such as stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs and sphygmomanometers (for reading the blood pressure). The school may supply the equipment or require that the student purchase the equipment. The student should consult the syllabus to determine the requirements.
The health assessment class usually concludes with testing of the student's classroom knowledge and clinical skills. The instructor evaluates the student's mastery of practical application and academic exercises. In preparing for success, the nursing student should familiarize herself with the syllabus and plan her schedule accordingly.