Musculoskeletal and Extremities Assessment
Reflecting on Musculoskeletal and Extremities Assessment
There is one experience I viewed of my preceptor conducting an assessment of the musculoskeletal system and the extremities. My preceptor is a practicing family nurse practitioner (FNP) with over ten years of practice experience. He is therefore very competent. The assessment was that of a 28 year-old soccer player who had presented with left knee pain accompanied by a limited range of motion. I learnt by observing him that it is not easy to assess this system in comparison to the other body systems. Because of this, I also learnt that it is very easy to miss the correct diagnosis if one is not good at performing and interpreting the diagnostic tests (Bickley, 2017). In all, I learnt from this experience that it requires practice to master the art of performing physical examination tests such as anterior drawer test and the patellar apprehension test in patients with joint injuries (Bunt et al., 2018). Musculoskeletal and Extremities Assessment
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Some of the difficulties that may arise when completing this assessment are that the patient may be in so much pain that they are unable to cooperate fully with the assessment. This is particularly with the various tests that are supposed to be done as stated above. He tests involve flexion and extension of the joint. Another difficulty that may arise is the difficulty in correctly interpreting the test outcomes when they are equivocal or the patient is in pain. To overcome these difficulties, the examination should be conducted by an experienced clinician. If the patient is seen by an inexperienced clinician, they should seek directions and supervision from a more experienced colleague in the spirit of interprofessional collaboration. The patient should also be reassured and examined in a calming environment. Musculoskeletal and Extremities Assessment
The Christian worldview considers all illnesses and diseases curable by the power of God through faith. The clinician should therefore appeal to the patient’s spiritual beliefs and reassure them that God will have a hand in healing them. Having compassion will also make the pain and suffering bearable for the patient.
References
Bickley, L.S. (2017). Bates’ guide to physical examination and history taking, 12th ed. Wolters Kluwer.
Bunt, C.W., Jonas, C.E., & Chang, J.G. (2018). Knee pain in adults and adolescents: The initial evaluation. American Family Physician, 98(9), 576-585. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2018/1101/p576.html
Musculoskeletal and Extremities Assessment