assessment
[ah-ses´ment] an appraisal or evaluation.
focused assessment a highly specific assessment performed on patients in the
emergency department, focusing on the system or systems involved in the patient's problem.
functional assessment an objective review of an individual's mobility, transfer skills, and
activities of daily living, including self care, sphincter control, mobility, locomotion, and communication. It is used to establish a baseline, to predict
rehabilitation outcomes, to evaluate therapeutic interventions, and for standardizing communication for
research purposes.
lethality assessment a systematic method of assessing a patient's
suicide potential.
nursing assessment see nursing assessment.
primary assessment a rapid, initial examination of a patient to recognize and manage all immediate life-threatening conditions. Called also
primary survey.
secondary assessment a continuation of the primary assessment, where the medical professional obtains vital signs, reassesses changes in the patient's condition, and performs appropriate physical examinations.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.