May I physically assess half your body in under 14 minutes?
Haha, the title question for this blog post is kind of awkward.. let me explain. I am finally halfway through the summer semester, and today I completed my midterm checkout for Physical Assessment! My mouth is running dry from the amount of talking I have done within these past weeks memorizing what we are expected to verbalize. We had to perform a physical assessment on half the body (skin, head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, neck, lungs, and breasts) in under 14 minutes (15 min max). Let me tell you, it is a LOT of information to memorize and verbalize (Imagine talking and executing tests at a fast pace NONSTOP for 14 minutes!). We had to verbalize everything that we were inspecting, percussing, and auscultating. Apparently I missed two minor things throughout the entire assessment which doesn't seem that bad in the whole scheme of things, but I really thought I would have hit all the marks. I actually weirdly and oddly enjoy memorizing scripts verbatim. Couple more weeks and I will have all the tools and knowledge to perform a full body physical assessment! Hoping that I still qualify for early checkout so that I can perform the full physical assessment a week early before finals week!!!
We also were assessed in our skills lab. We had to draw a skill from a basket and also perform vital signs on the TA who was grading us. I drew out the "insert a nasopharyngeal airway" skill. I believeee I hit all the marks on the checklist, which I am thankful for. I hate not knowing how tests are going to go, so this particular test gave me some anxiety not knowing which skill I was going to draw out of the basket.
Now on to studying for two online tests, two online quizzes, and one in-class test! This next week is going to be really long. :(
Hope all of you are having a great week so far! Be sure to give yourself some R&R! I know I will have to remind myself that.
Sincerely,
Meagan