UNIVERSITY OF THE CORDILLERAS

COLLEGE OF NURSING
INSTRUCTOR: Beverly B. Santos – Bentres

MODULE 3: GENERAL SURVEY

Let Us Set Our Objectives!

After this activity, the students will be able to:

✓ have an in-depth understanding of the purpose of general survey;
✓ conduct health assessment using different approaches, including
cephalon-caudal and focused approach;
✓ Identify normal and abnormal findings in the body region being
examined;
✓ demonstrate correct techniques when conducting general survey.

INTRODUCTION

Our physical assessment begins with our “first impression” of our patient; thus,
before we focus on a specific system of the body, we perform our general
survey. We use our observational skills and our senses to look, listen or smell for
any clues that might indicate a problem. The General Survey is the introduction
of the physical assessment.

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 References:

Dillon,Patricia (2013) Nursing Health Assessment: A Critical Thinking (2nd ed).

Lippincott Williams and Wilkins

Jarvis, C., Eckhart, A., (2020) Physical Examination and Health Assessment (8th
ed). Wisconsin. Elsevier.

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