Extend a greeting to your patient and wait for a reply. If your patient gives an appropriate response, then he is mentally alert.
Observe your patient's physical appearance. Look at his skin color for paleness, redness or cyanosis. Take note of rashes or any abnormal skin lesions.
Take your clients blood pressure, check his temperature and count his pulses. After counting his pulses, hold on to his wrist and count his respiratory rate. Make sure you observe the quality of his breathing and note whether it is labored or normal.
Listen to your patient's lungs to see if his breathing sounds are normal or not.
Assess your client's heart. Listen to the beats of your patient's heart. Check for extra heart sounds or heart murmurs.
Check your patient's neck to see if his jugular vein is distended, indicating jugulovenous distension. If it is, it may indicate right-sided heart failure.
Assess your patient for swelling or edema. Look at his feet and ankle for the presence of swelling.
Perform a focused assessment. Determine what your patients chief complaint is and perform a nursing assessment based on that. If for example, he has stomach pains, assess his stomach extensively and interview him about his diet and other factors related to his digestive system.