Journal Article Review
A Journal Article Review #1
Andrea Corza
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR 305 Health Assessment
Professor Ava Farahany
January 14, 2011
Journal Article Review #1 “A guide to taking a patient’s history” is an article found in the December 2007 issue of the Nursing Standard which was written by, Hilary Lloyd and Stephen Craig. In this article Lloyd and Craig create an outline of sorts that can be followed in order to obtain a more thorough patient history. Throughout the article, Lloyd and Craig take us through this outline which includes topics such as preparation of the environment, use of communication skills and applying order and structure as a means of acquiring a comprehensive health history while also providing us with the rationale for the necessity of this history.
Summary of Article As nurses we know that the patient history is often one of the most important pieces of the patient assessment and it is often our duty to obtain this history from the patient. The focus of this article is to provide the readers with a structured plan to use as a guide when taking a comprehensive health history. It is important to understand all the individual components that make up this structured plan in order to truly gain the skill of taking a systematic patient history. According to the research provided by Lloyd and Craig (2007) the first part of the history taking process is preparing the environment. The initial element to take into consideration when looking at environment is location. Patients can be seen in a variety of settings such as clinics, hospitals, or even at home. The nurse should ensure that the location has the proper equipment in order to work, is and quiet and provides for patient privacy, and that interruptions can be kept to a minimum. “It is essential to allow sufficient time complete the history. Not allowing enough time can result in incomplete information, which may adversely affect the patients care.” (Lloyd &
Andrea Corza
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR 305 Health Assessment
Professor Ava Farahany
January 14, 2011
Journal Article Review #1 “A guide to taking a patient’s history” is an article found in the December 2007 issue of the Nursing Standard which was written by, Hilary Lloyd and Stephen Craig. In this article Lloyd and Craig create an outline of sorts that can be followed in order to obtain a more thorough patient history. Throughout the article, Lloyd and Craig take us through this outline which includes topics such as preparation of the environment, use of communication skills and applying order and structure as a means of acquiring a comprehensive health history while also providing us with the rationale for the necessity of this history.
Summary of Article As nurses we know that the patient history is often one of the most important pieces of the patient assessment and it is often our duty to obtain this history from the patient. The focus of this article is to provide the readers with a structured plan to use as a guide when taking a comprehensive health history. It is important to understand all the individual components that make up this structured plan in order to truly gain the skill of taking a systematic patient history. According to the research provided by Lloyd and Craig (2007) the first part of the history taking process is preparing the environment. The initial element to take into consideration when looking at environment is location. Patients can be seen in a variety of settings such as clinics, hospitals, or even at home. The nurse should ensure that the location has the proper equipment in order to work, is and quiet and provides for patient privacy, and that interruptions can be kept to a minimum. “It is essential to allow sufficient time complete the history. Not allowing enough time can result in incomplete information, which may adversely affect the patients care.” (Lloyd &