Introduction
This article is authored by Hilary Lloyd and Stephen Craig. Hilary is a principal lecturer specifically in Nursing Practice, Development and Research in Sunderland, Unite Kingdom. The co-author, Stephen Craig is a senior nursing lecturer in Northumbria University, in Newcastle, United Kingdom. The title of the article is “A Guide to Taking a Patient’s History”. The article was accepted and published in the journal called “Nursing Standard”. The article was published on the twenty fourth or August in the year two thousand and seven.
Summary of the Article
The article is focused on the process of taking patient history. In authoring the article, Llyod & Craig (2007), acknowledge the importance of order, nurse’s communication skills and the need for preparing the environment around the patient when taking their history. Consequently, these three elements are discusses in detail in order to give a holistic approach to taking patient history. A significant part of taking patient’s history involves assessing the patients. The article outlines various aspects the patient that a nurse should assess as part of the patient history. The article offers rationales for each of these aspects. The article also outlines the rationale for ensuring that by the end of the assessment process, a comprehensive history of the patient is taken.
Llyod & Craig (2007) offer the readers highlights of different tools and strategies that can be employed in collecting patient’s history. They explain the use of closed and open ended questions, and the use of clarifications in the process of taking a patient’s history. The article also provides a wide array of tools for use when taking a patient’s history. Some of these tools include a conversion table for calculating tobacco and alcohol use. It also introduces the cage system for use when taking history on alcohol intake.
I found the article very captivating and interesting. At first glance, the presentation of the information is appealing. The authors have employed graphics to good effect. The use of dialogue boxes and color creates a relaxed atmosphere where the reader can best assimilate the information. I was also interested by the scholarly work that the authors used to back their arguments. They not only used textual citations buts also borrowed from evidence based research. Consequently, I found the information presented by the article as of the caliber I can trust. It was also interesting the authors not only discussed what to do, but also delved into what not to do. For instance, they give examples of interview techniques that are unhelpful, hence should not be used when taking patient history.
The health assessment strategy was clearly explained by the authors of the article. The authors use examples in order to illustrate various aspects of the strategy. Additionally, the strategy is divided into stages. This enhances the clarity of the clarity. The ability of the reader to grasp the concepts is also heightened when this approach is employed. As highlighted earlier, the authors have emphasized the need for order when conducting a health assessment in a patient. This was reiterated in the explanation of the health assessment strategy. The authors listed the steps and the activities that were t be carried out ahead of others. The article also explained the need for the established order, and why it was important to maintain it.
I reckon that more research article should be written in this area if health assessment. As emphasized by the authors of the article, taking patient history is a very important aspect of healthcare provision. As such, it is important this area of health assessment be carried out to perfection. It is for this reason that this research article is written. More research should be carried out in order to develop even better health assessment strategies. It is important to keep improving the strategies that are in practice presently. More so, more research articles might also unearth loopholes in the current strategies where quality is compromised.
One might think that since the article is published in a journal specializing in nursing articles, the information in the article is only of benefit to those on the nursing profession. On the contrary, the information reported in this article is beneficial to many individuals and groups of people in the healthcare profession. At one point, any healthcare provider has to take the history of the patient in order to form a basis for his/her actions. This information would be of benefit to such an individual. Therefore, nutritionists, nurses, clinical officers among other healthcare providers would find the information reported in the article beneficial.
Conclusion
The article holds that the process of taking patient history is very important. Of importance too is the environment in which the assessment is carried out, communication and maintaining order. Proper assessment is beneficial to the patient because it provides a cocktail of information that will inform the care process. In order to acquire quality information from the assessment, it is important to follow the steps as ordered in the health assessment strategy that is recommended in the article. This way, the role of assessment will be played without compromising on quality.
References
Lloyd, H., & Craig.S. (2007). A guide to taking a patient’s history. Nursing Standard, 22(13), 42-48.
