Designed for advanced practice nurses and advanced practice nursing students, as well as Physician’s Assistant students and practitioners, Advanced Health Assessment & Clinical Diagnosis in Primary Care, 4th Edition, is a practical resource that takes you to the “next step” of health assessment, beyond basic history and physical examination and through the diagnostic reasoning process. Accessible and concise, it approaches physical examination by focusing on a specific chief complaint rather than a diagnosis of a disease entity. Each chapter is organized into four major areas: Focused History; Focused Physical Examination; Laboratory and Diagnostic Studies; and Differential Diagnosis. Those who master the diagnostic reasoning process in this text will be able to accurately diagnose the majority of conditions they will see in clinical practice.

Easy-to-follow format with consistent organization improves your ability to understand and accurately perform the different elements of the diagnostic reasoning process:

Focused History sections walk you through the thinking process involved in obtaining a pertinent, relevant, problem-specific history that will assist in differential diagnosis.

Key Questions highlight what questions to ask the patient, followed by an explanation of what the patient’s responses might signify, to guide you toward an accurate assessment and precise diagnosis.

Focused Physical Examination sections explain how to conduct more advanced diagnostic techniques and offer interpretations of the findings.

Laboratory and Diagnostic Studies sections give a brief outline of what types of laboratory or diagnostic studies would be appropriate for the chief complaint or suspected diagnosis.

Differential Diagnosis sections contain the most common differential diagnoses for each chief complaint and summarize the history and physical examination findings, along with the laboratory and diagnostic studies indicated. Differential Diagnosis tables offer an at-a-glance summary of possible diagnoses.Reordered table of contents, organized alphabetically by patient problem rather than by body system, simplifies and accelerates information retrieval. A list of chapters by body system is also included for reference.

Three new chapters:

Chapter 23: Palpitations

Chapter 36: Weight Loss/Gain (Unintentional)

Chapter 38: The Abdominal X-ray Additional Evidence-Based Practice boxes provide additional research-based tips on conducting the most effective exams for more accurate diagnoses.