Significance Physical Examination PDF

Running head: SIGNIFICANCE OF PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
Significance Physical Examination
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Significance Physical Examination
Introduction
Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANP) are registered nursing personnel who work
independently and in corporation with family-centered professionals to provide family-based
care, trauma, and emergency care. Advanced nurse practitioners play a significant role in their
contribution to the Australian healthcare system (Forbes & Watt, 2015). Given their autonomous
nature of service and the relatively wide scope of the family patient support, this category of
nursing staff offers multiple health-related amenities that spin around the family as a unit; from
disease prevalence inhibition to emergency care and life support across the lifecycle (Forbes &
Watt, 2015). Due to the complexity of their daily undertakings, these professionals are trained to
carry out diagnostic procedures and offer management to complicated medical situations both
physically and cognitively. One explicit role in execution of their mandate is carrying out
physical examination as part of their principal assessment and radical diagnosis stages. The aim
of this assignment is to discuss the physical examination as a nursing exercise, its pertinence to
the safety and health of the patient, issues influencing the application of this procedure in
contemporary advanced nursing practice as well as the experts view on this diagnostic practice.
Background
Also known as wellness check, physical examination refers to primary routine tests a
primary care provider (PCP) performs on a patient in order to gain a clear understanding of the
patient’s overall health condition (Blair & Jansen, 2015). The PCP may be a doctor, a physician
assistant, or a nurse. One doesn’t have to be sick to seek this kind of service. During this
examination, one may ask questions regarding his or her health and discuss any problems or

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Significance Physical Examination
changes that he or she may have noticed with the PCP. Depending on one’s age, family
background or medical history, the examining medic may recommend further testing.
The Significance of Physical Examination
A physical examination helps the healthcare giver determine the general health status of
the patient before developing an intervention plan. It also provides an opportunity for the patient
to talk about any symptoms or pains him or she may be experiencing. Physical examination is
important in that it helps the doctor check for possibility of emerging ailments whose symptoms
may not have become noticeable, identify any other issues that may be of concern to the patient
in future, update or recommend necessary immunizations and help the patient maintain a healthy
lifestyles such as routine exercises and appropriate diet (Harmon et al, 2015).
Physical Examination as a Clinical Practice
Is physical examination a clinical role? Absolutely yes. Physical examination is purely a
clinical role as all the activities, knowledge and background principles all conform to the basic
characteristics of clinical practice. These characteristics include; the concept of practice in
philosophy, practice in psychology, practice in education and practice in knowledge which are
all aspects of human life (LeBlond, 2015). According to the Australian nursing and midwifery
board, one can only apply for a registered nurse certificate upon completion of a government-
approved program of study in the same field. Such programs are approved by the Australia
health practitioners regulatory agency; a body charged with the mandate of governing all the
fifteen national boards responsible for developing practice standards and regulating the medical
practitioners. These boards include the Dental Board of Australia (DBA), Occupational Therapy
Board of Australia (OTBA), Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), Medical

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Significance Physical Examination
Board of Australia (MBA) among others. Thus once a course has been approved by the Nursing
and midwifery board and endorsed by the AHPRA, it is considered suitable for adoption in the
syllabus. One of the compulsory units in the nursing syllabus is the physical examination
practice.
Qualifications
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, for instance, outlines the various
competencies that qualify an individual to be registered as a nurse or an advanced nursing
practitioner. Examples of these requirements include but not limited to undertaking a detailed
and complex mental and or physical health examination of patients with multifarious healthcare
needs in critical situations, Accurate and concise interpretation of different assessments so as to
come up with a plan and execute it and the ability of an individual to competently and
confidently make an evidence-based and ethical intervention under critical and complex
situations. One must also be able to prescribe medication for a patient and help them manage
their medicines. It is worth noting that item number one on the list of competencies for a
registered nurse is the physical examination aspect. This shows just how the physical
examination is vital exercise in nursing practice.
Issues Influencing the Application of Physical Examination
Marxist philosophy considers a practice to be all social objective and to play a role in
transforming, exploring a reforming the world (Forbes & Watt, 2015). By conducting a physical
examination, the practitioner has a broad objective of transforming the patient's current state of
health into a better condition. Studies of practice ability in clinical psychology have focused on
practical intelligence. Neisser was among the scholars who first came up with the idea of