LABORATORY ACTIVITY

HEAD & NECK ASSESSMENT

Name: __________________________________ Section: ______________

Instructions:

1. Use this Laboratory Activity Sheet as your guide while conducting Nursing Health History and
Physical Examination of your relative. Then place your findings in the given tables.
2. Save your final work to .pdf format with a file name: (Surname, First Name Initial) – ex. Ramos, OM
3. Save also your recorded video with the same file name format as stated above.
4. Upload your recorded video and this lab activity sheet in the given gdrive link that can be found in
the TLC (Health Assessment Lab) on or before February 7, 2021.

I. Nursing Interview Guide to Collect Subjective Data from the Patient

Questions Findings
Current Symptoms
1. Lumps or lesions on head or neck that do not
heal or disappear.
2. Difficulty moving head or neck.
3. Facial or neck pain or frequent headaches
4. Dizziness, lightheadedness, spinning sensation,
or loss of consciousness.
Past Medical History
Previous head or neck problems/ trauma/ injury
(surgery, medication, physical or radiation
therapy) results.
Family History
1. Head and/or neck cancer
2. Migraine headaches
Lifestyle and Health Practices
1. Do you smoke or chew tobacco? Amount?
Secondhand smoke?
2. Do you wear a helmet or hard hat?
3. Typical posture when relaxing, during sleep,
and when working.
4. Type of recreational activities.
5. Satisfaction with appearance.
II. Nursing Interview Guide to Collect Objective Data from the Patient

Questions Findings
General Instructions
1. Gather necessary equipment to be used (gloves, stethoscope, flashlight, glass of water)
2. Explain the procedure to the client
Head & Face
1. Inspect head for size, shape and configuration.
2. Palpate head for consistency while wearing
gloves.
3. Inspect face for symmetry, features,
movement, expression, and skin condition
4. Palpate temporal artery for tenderness and
elasticity.
5. Palpate temporomandibular joint for range of
motion, swelling, tenderness, or crepitation by
placing index finger over the front of each and
asking client to open mouth.
Neck
1. Inspect neck while it is in a slightly extended
position for position, symmetry, and presence of
lumps or masses.
2. Inspect movement of thyroid and cricoid
cartilage and thyroid gland by having client
swallow a small sip of water.
3. Inspect cervical vertebrae by having the client
flex neck.
4. Inspect neck range of motion by having client
turn chin to right and left shoulder; touch each
ear to the shoulder, touch chin to chest, and lift
chin to ceiling.
5. Palpate trachea by placing your finger in the
sternal notch, feeling to each side, and palpating
the tracheal rings.
6. Palpate the thyroid gland.
7. Auscultate thyroid gland for bruits if the gland
is enlarged by using the bell of stethoscope.
8. Palpate lymph nodes for size/shape,
delimitation, mobility, consistency, and
tenderness.
a) Preauricular nodes (front of ears)

b) Postauricular nodes (behind the ears)

c) Occipital nodes (posterior base of the skull)

d) Tonsillar nodes (angle of mandible)

e) Submandibular nodes (medial border of the

mandible)

f) Submental nodes (few cm behind the tip of

the mandible; use 1 hand)

g) Superficial cervical nodes (superficial to the

SCM)

h) Posterior cervical nodes (posterior to SCM

and anterior to the Trapezius ms. In the posterior
triangle)

i) Deep cervical chain nodes (deep within and

around the SCM)

j) Supraclavicular nodes (hook fingers over

clavicles and feel deeply between the clavicles
and the SCM)