Use of Physical Assessment Knowledge Skills and Educational Requirement Levels of Emergency Nurses: A Quantitative Study

Abstract

Physical assessment, which is a professional nursing practice, is an important component in making a nursing diagnosis, planning patient-centered goals, and evaluating patient outcomes by making appropriate interventions. The research has been done to determine the level of information and skill about the physical assessment and training requirements of emergency nurses. The descriptive research has been done with the participation of 130 nurses, who are working in adult emergency room. The data has been collected with nurse information form and physical assessment skills assessment form. It was determined that the physical assessment skills of the nurses, which had the highest level of knowledge and skill, were vital findings, skin and neurological evaluation, and the evaluation of genitourinary system was the lowest. Nurses stated that they need training for heart-peripheral vascular system, thorax-lung and neurological assessment. In the research, it is determined that the nurses did not use physical assessment skills at desired level. Although the physical assessment knowledge and skill levels of some nurses were high and the frequency of application was high, it was found that the nurses who see physical assessment among their roles were high in the training requirements related to the same fields.