Advanced Health Assessment & Clinical Diagnosis in Primary Care

Take the 'next step' in health assessment! Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Diagnosis in Primary Care, 5th Edition goes beyond basic history and physical examination to help you master the diagnostic reasoning process. You'll develop this key skill by following assessment guidelines that focus on a specific complaint rather than beginning with a previously established diagnosis or disease entity. Written by advanced practice nursing experts Joyce Dains, Linda Baumann, and Pamela Scheibel, this edition includes new chapters on evidence-based preventive health screening and on heartburn and indigestion, along with a new full-color design. Master the differential diagnosis process outlined in this book, and you'll be able to accurately diagnose the majority of patients seen in today's primary care settings.



A clear, consistent diagnostic reasoning process takes you to the next step of health assessment - beyond basic history and physical examination to diagnostic reasoning.
Diagnostic Reasoning: Focused History sections use 'self-questions' to walk you through the thinking process involved in obtaining a pertinent, relevant, problem-specific history that will assist in differential diagnosis.
Diagnostic Reasoning: Focused Physical Examination sections explain how to perform more advanced diagnostic techniques and interpret the findings.
Key Questions guide you through assessment and toward an accurate diagnosis by listing questions to ask the patient, followed by explanations of what the patient's responses might signify.
Laboratory and Diagnostic Studies sections outline the types of studies that might be appropriate based on the focused history and focused physical examination.
Differential Diagnosis sections offer the most common diagnoses for each patient problem and summarize the history and physical examination findings, along with recommended laboratory and diagnostic studies.
Differential Diagnosis tables provide a quick-reference summary of possible diagnoses for each patient problem.
Evidence-Based Practice boxes - more than 30 are NEW - summarize the scientific evidence related to the diagnosis of patient problems.
Alphabetical Table of Contents provides a convenient listing of common health problems.



NEW Evidence-Based Preventive Health Screening chapter helps you screen for common asymptomatic conditions and promote wellness.
NEW Heartburn and Indigestion chapter addresses this common condition and includes important differential diagnoses such as myocardial infarction and cancer of the esophagus.
NEW! Separate chapters on limb pain divide the topic by lower extremities and upper extremities, offering more focused, easy-to-locate coverage.
NEW! Information on screening for abuse and sexual assault helps in identifying patients who might need additional support or intervention.
NEW! Updated information on psychiatric/mental health problems reflects the latest changes in practice as well as changes to the DSM.
NEW! More than 20 NEW illustrations enhance content and a full-color design makes topics easier to find.