English for Nursing 2

Topic 7

EYES AND EARS ASSESSMENT

Instructional objective
The students are expected to be able:

 to act out a conversation and practice of assessing eyes and ears, and
 to write a nursing documentation of eyes and ears assessment result.

Related Vocabularies
Direction. The followings are the vocabularies of eyes and ears anatomy. Match the words and the
definition.
Part of Eyes
1 Iris A The transparent slightly bulging surface in
front of the eyes
2 Optic Nerve B The white part of the eye
3 Retina C The layer at the back of the eye which is
sensitive to light and that receives the
image you see and sends it to the brain
4 Pupil D Connects the eye to the brain
5 Cornea E The small round black area at the center of
the eye. It varies in size to regulate the
amount of light reaching the retina ofr the
back of the eye.
6 Sclera F The round colored part that surrounds the
pupil of the eye. It is responsible for
controlling the size of the pupil.

Part of Ears
7 Pinna G Lined with hair cells that move when
vibrated
8 Ear canal H Send signals from the ear to the brain
9 Auditory nerves I The part of the ear that collects sound
waves
1 Small bones J The tube where sound travels to the
0 eardrum
1 cochlea K Tiny bones that vibrate and send sound
1 waves to the inner ear

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Useful Expressions
Direction. Study the following useful expressions when assessing head, face, and neck and practice
them.
A. Greeting
 Hi, Paul. How are you doing today?
 Good morning, Sir.

B. Self-Introduction
 My name is Nancy. Im a nurse from Harper College.
 I am Nurse Shanti. I will take care of you today.

C. Explaining what you are going to do

 I am here to ....  I am here to do an asssessment on
your eyes and ears. Is that okay?
 I am going to ....  I am going to start with two
questions.
 It is time for me to ....  It is time for me to check your
 I need to .... ears.
 I just want to ....  I need to check your visual acuity.
 I just want to check your pupils.

D. Giving questions
 Do you ...............?
 Have you ever had
problem with your ......?
 Do you wear eye glasses?
 Do you?
 Do you feel any pain with that?
any  Have you ever had any problem
with your eyes like infection?

E. Giving instructions
 (V1) ............  Put it over your left eye.
 Tell me if you can see my finger.
 Look at me.
 Look straight at me.
 Repeat what I’m gonna say.
 Would/Could/Can you ...............?  Can you take off your glasses just
for a moment?

Communication Exercise
Direction. Choose a pair and write a complete conversation on the acts of assessing eyes and ears.
You can use the useful expressions above. Then, practice and present your communication practice.

Nursing Documentation

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Direction. Write a nursing documentation of the result of eyes and ears assessment. You can refer to
the table below for jotting down what you have to find out.
Part of Body What to check? How is the condition?
1. Eyes Visual acuity
Visual fields Is it normal?
Extra ocular movement Is it normal?
Accomodation PERLA? (Pupils Equal, React to
Light and Accomodation)
External eye Is the conjunctiva clear and
shiny?
Is the sclera white?
Any lesions?
2. Ears Hearing (whisper test, Positive or negative response?
etc.)
Lesions
Tenderness Any tenderness or no
tenderness?
Cleanliness Is the ear canal clean?

You can fill the following form after assessing your client’s eyes and ears.

NURSING DOCUMENTATION

I. Patient’s identity
Name : Address :

Sex : male/female*
Age : Phone number :
Assessment Results
Eyes :

Ears :

Day, Date, Time :

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Assessor : Nurse .........