Maryville NURS330 2022 MAY Week 4 Assignment Latest

NURS330 Individual Assessment

Week 4 Assignment

Head Assessment Case Study

This case study provides you with the opportunity to apply what you have learned about assessment of pain in the head to a simulated patient situation. You will be asked to brainstorm possible explanations for a problem the patient is having, identify abnormal findings the patient is displaying, and associate the findings with the possible causes.

Ben T., a 20-year-old, Hispanic, college student, comes into the Student Health Clinic complaining of a headache. "I've had this headache for a day or so, ever since my final exams started. It feels like someone is squeezing my head in a vise. It throbs, and I've had a runny nose that started at about the same time."  He also states, “I do not like to take any medications because I am fearful of what it can do to my body.”

Upon examination, he is visibly wincing and holding his head in his hands. You don't palpate any lesions, lumps, or tender spots on his scalp or face, including the sinus region.

nspecting his face reveals features that are the same on both sides and a normal (if somewhat pained) expression. His neck shows full range of motion: he can move his head easily and just about touch each ear to his shoulders, and he can touch his chin all the way to his chest. His neck appears the same on both sides; his lymph nodes (or other bumps) are palpable. He shows no pain or tenderness of the neck; his trachea runs right down the middle of his throat, and you cannot feel his thyroid gland. He rates his pain at 7 out of 10 being the worst possible pain.

ased on Ben's description of his headache, what red flags, if any, are present?

Write an appropriate nursing note based on Ben's subjective data.

What cultural considerations affect this patient’s care? How would you respond to his comment about his fears of taking medications?

Based on the description of the objective data about Ben, what red flags, if any, are present?

Write an appropriate nursing note regarding his head, face, and neck based on Ben's objective data.

Patients rarely present with symptoms that match the "textbook case" perfectly. What features of his account are not commonly associated with a tension headache?

Based on Ben's description of his headache, list at least two additional questions that you would like to ask so that you have additional data.