December 26, 2022

You first assignment for this week is to be written in a SOAP Note

You first assignment for this week is to be written in a SOAP Note format (NO NARRATIVES). There is a template/sample for you to follow posted in your announcements at the beginning of the semester. You will need to put in the missing information in the note (some may be made up ie meds, hx, parts of the ROS and PE). I’m looking to make sure you know what information to include. In the Assessment/Plan, you will document your differential diagnoses as per the assignment. I will comment on your notes and if needed, send you an email if I need to help you with them more.

Assignment 1:

The Lab Assignment

Choose one skin condition graphic (identify by number in your Chief Complaint) to document your assignment in the SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan) note format rather than the traditional narrative style. Refer to Chapter 2 of the Sullivan text and the Comprehensive SOAP Template in this week's Learning Resources for guidance. Remember that not all comprehensive SOAP data are included in every patient case.

Use clinical terminologies to explain the physical characteristics featured in the graphic. Formulate a differential diagnosis of three to five possible conditions for the skin graphic that you chose. Determine which is most likely to be the correct diagnosis and explain your reasoning using at least three different references, one reference from current evidence-based literature from your search and two different references from this week’s Learning Resources.

Reading Assignments

Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2019). Seidel's guide to physical examination: An interprofessional approach (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

Chapter 9, “Skin, Hair, and Nails”

This chapter reviews the basic anatomy and physiology of skin, hair, and nails. The chapter also describes guidelines for proper skin, hair, and nails assessments.

Colyar, M. R. (2015). Advanced practice nursing procedures. Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis.
Credit Line: Advanced practice nursing procedures, 1st Edition by Colyar, M. R. Copyright 2015 by F. A. Davis Company. Reprinted by permission of F. A. Davis Company via the Copyright Clearance Center.

This section explains the procedural knowledge needed prior to performing various dermatological procedures.

Chapter 1, “Punch Biopsy”

Chapter 2, “Skin Biopsy”

Chapter 10, “Nail Removal”

Chapter 15, “Skin Lesion Removals: Keloids, Moles, Corns, Calluses”

Chapter 16, “Skin Tag (Acrochordon) Removal”

Chapter 22, “Suture Insertion”

Chapter 24, “Suture Removal”

Dains, J. E., Baumann, L. C., & Scheibel, P. (2019). Advanced health assessment and clinical diagnosis in primary care (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Credit Line: Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Diagnosis in Primary Care, 6th Edition by Dains, J.E., Baumann, L. C., & Scheibel, P. Copyright 2019 by Mosby. Reprinted by permission of Mosby via the Copyright Clearance Center.

Chapter 28, “Rashes and Skin Lesions”
This chapter explains the steps in an initial examination of someone with dermatological problems, including the type of information that needs to be gathered and assessed.

Note: Download and use the Student Checklist and the Key Points when you conduct your assessment of the skin, hair, and nails in this Week’s Lab Assignment.

Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2019). Skin, hair, and nails: Student checklist. In Seidel's guide to physical examination (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Credit Line: Seidel's Guide to Physical Examination, 9th Edition by Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. Copyright 2019 by Elsevier Health Sciences. Reprinted by permission of Elsevier Health Sciences via the Copyright Clearance Center.

Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2019). Skin, hair, and nails: Key points. In Seidel's guide to physical examination: An interprofessional approach (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Credit Line: Seidel's Guide to Physical Examination, 9th Edition by Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. Copyright 2019 by Elsevier Health Sciences. Reprinted by permission of Elsevier Health Sciences via the Copyright Clearance Center.

Sullivan, D. D. (2019). Guide to clinical documentation (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis.

Chapter 2, "The Comprehensive History and Physical Exam" (Previously read in Weeks 1 and 3)

VisualDx. (n.d.). Clinical decision support. Retrieved June 11, 2019, from http://www.skinsight.com/info/for_professionals

This interactive website allows you to explore skin conditions according to age, gender, and area of the body.

Clothier, A. (2014). Assessing and managing skin tears in older people. Nurse Prescribing, 12(6), 278–282.

Week 4 Lab Assignment: Differential Diagnosis for Skin Conditions

Page 5 of 5

Comprehensive SOAP Template

Patient Initials: _______ Age: _______ Gender: _______

Note: The mnemonic below is included for your reference and should be removed before the submission of your final note.

O = onset of symptom (acute/gradual)

L= location

D= duration (recent/chronic)

C= character

A= associated symptoms/aggravating factors

R= relieving factors

T= treatments previously tried – response? Why discontinued?

S= severity

SUBJECTIVE DATA: Include what the patient tells you, but organize the information.

Chief Complaint (CC): In just a few words, explain why the patient came to the clinic.

History of Present Illness (HPI): This is the symptom analysis section of your note. Thorough documentation in this section is essential for patient care, coding, and billing analysis. Paint a picture of what is wrong with the patient. You need to start EVERY HPI with age, race, and gender (i.e. 34-year-old AA male). You must include the 7 attributes of each principal symptom:

1. Location

2. Quality

3. Quantity or severity

4. Timing, including onset, duration, and frequency

5. Setting in which it occurs

6. Factors that have aggravated or relieved the symptom

7. Associated manifestations

Medications: Include over the counter, vitamin, and herbal supplements. List each one by name with dosage and frequency.

Allergies: Include specific reactions to medications, foods, insects, and environmental factors.

Past Medical History (PMH): Include illnesses (also childhood illnesses), hospitalizations, and risky sexual behaviors.

Past Surgical History (PSH): Include dates, indications, and types of operations.

Sexual/Reproductive History: If applicable, include obstetric history, menstrual history, methods of contraception, and sexual function.

Personal/Social History: Include tobacco use, alcohol use, drug use, patient’s interests, ADL’s and IADL’s if applicable, and exercise and eating habits.

Immunization History: Include last Tdp, Flu, pneumonia, etc.

Significant Family History: Include history of parents, Grandparents, siblings, and children.

Lifestyle: Include cultural factors, economic factors, safety, and support systems.

Review of Systems: From head-to-toe, include each system that covers the Chief Complaint, History of Present Illness, and History (this includes the systems that address any previous diagnoses). Remember that the information you include in this section is based on what the patient tells you. You do not need to do them all unless you are doing a total H&P. To ensure that you include all essentials in your case, refer to Chapter 2 of the Sullivan text.

General: Include any recent weight changes, weakness, fatigue, or fever, but do not restate HPI data here.

HEENT:

Neck:

Breasts:

Respiratory:

Cardiovascular/Peripheral Vascular:

Gastrointestinal:

Genitourinary:

Musculoskeletal:

Psychiatric:

Neurological:

Skin: Include rashes, lumps, sores, itching, dryness, changes, etc.

Hematologic:

Endocrine:

Allergic/Immunologic:

OBJECTIVE DATA: From head-to-toe, include what you see, hear, and feel when doing your physical exam. You only need to examine the systems that are pertinent to the CC, HPI, and History unless you are doing a total H&P. Do not use WNL or normal. You must describe what you see.

Physical Exam:

Vital signs: Include vital signs, ht, wt, and BMI.

General: Include general state of health, posture, motor activity, and gait. This may also include dress, grooming, hygiene, odors of body or breath, facial expression, manner, level of conscience, and affect and reactions to people and things.

HEENT:

Neck:

Chest/Lungs: Always include this in your PE.

Heart/Peripheral Vascular: Always include the heart in your PE.

Abdomen:

Genital/Rectal:

Musculoskeletal:

Neurological:

Skin:

ASSESSMENT: List your priority diagnosis(es). For each priority diagnosis, list at least 3 differential diagnoses, each of which must be supported with evidence and guidelines. Include any labs, x-rays, or other diagnostics that are needed to develop the differential diagnoses. For holistic care, you need to include previous diagnoses and indicate whether these are controlled or not controlled. These should also be included in your treatment plan.

PLAN: This section is not required for the assignments in this course (NURS 6512), but will be required for future courses.

Treatment Plan: If applicable, include both pharmacological and nonpharmacological strategies, alternative therapies, follow-up recommendations, referrals, consultations, and any additional labs, x-ray, or other diagnostics. Support the treatment plan with evidence and guidelines.

Health Promotion: Include exercise, diet, and safety recommendations, as well as any other health promotion strategies for the patient/family. Support the health promotion recommendations and strategies with evidence and guidelines.

Disease Prevention: As appropriate for the patient’s age, include disease prevention recommendations and strategies such as fasting lipid profile, mammography, colonoscopy, immunizations, etc. Support the disease prevention recommendations and strategies with evidence and guidelines.

REFLECTION: Reflect on your clinical experience and consider the following questions: What did you learn from this experience? What would you do differently? Do you agree with your preceptor based on the evidence?