Author Description

At first glance, the idea of teaching nurses the essentials of physical diagnosis may seem new and perhaps controversial. In 1965, when the authors were students in one of the first Pediatric Nurse Practitioner programs at the University of Colorado, the idea of nurses using stethoscopes, otoscopes, and other instruments traditionally assigned to the physician was heralded with a great deal of skepticism. This book provides a detailed guide for the nurse learning the skills of physical diagnosis. It is designed to help any nurse interested in improving her skills of physical assessment. Each chapter of the book is divided into a discussion of why an examination of a portion of the body is important, a review of the anatomy, a description of the method to be used in the examination, a description of the instruments to be used, and some discussion of conditions of which the nurse should be aware when examining that particular portion of the body. - Preface.