This course equips you with the knowledge and skills required to conduct systematic, culturally sensitive, and client-centred health assessments, including health history taking, physical examination, diagnostic investigations, and organization of assessment data for effective clinical decision-making.

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

1. Explain the concepts, purpose, elements, and types of health assessment and demonstrate effective therapeutic communication during clinical interviewing.
2. Conduct a comprehensive health history and systematic physical examination, including general survey, vital signs, and age-specific assessments for paediatric and geriatric clients.
3. Describe and interpret common laboratory and radiological investigations used to support health assessment and clinical decision-making.
4. Organize and analyse health assessment findings using Gordon’s Functional Health Patterns and develop an appropriate concept map to guide client care.

Introduction to health Assessment: Concepts in health assessment; Definition, purpose, elements of health assessment process, types of health assessment, therapeutic clinical interviewing environment; Communication skills and approaches in interviewing special clients/patients, Cultural considerations in history taking and physical examination. History taking: Components of a health history. Physical examination: Techniques of Physical Examination; General survey; vital signs 

Systemic examination; highlights of specific expectations in geriatric and Paediatric client’s systemic examination. Diagnostic procedures and investigations: laboratory investigations; radiological examinations. Data organization: Application of Gordon’s functional health patterns; developing a concept map.