Week 9: Assessment of Cognition and the Neurologic System

A 63-year-old woman comes to your office because she’s been forgetting things…a young mother comes in concerned because her baby fails to make eye contact and is unresponsive to touch…a teenager comes in and a parent complains that the teen obsessively washes his hands.

An array of neurological conditions could be causing the above symptoms. When assessing the neurologic system, it is vital to formulate an accurate diagnosis as early as possible to prevent continued damage and deterioration of a patient’s quality of life.

This week, you will explore methods for assessing the cognition and the neurologic system.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Evaluate abnormal neurological symptoms
• Apply concepts, theories, and principles relating to health assessment techniques and diagnoses for cognition and the neurologic system
• Assess health conditions based on a head-to-toe physical examination

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Learning Resources

Required Readings (click to expand/reduce) Required Media (click to expand/reduce)

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Assignment 1: Case Study Assignment: Assessing Neurological Symptoms

To Prepare

• By Day 1 of this week, you will be assigned to a specific case study for this Case Study Assignment. Please see the “Course Announcements” section of the classroom for your assignment from your Instructor.
• Also, your Case Study Assignment should be in the Episodic/Focused SOAP Note format rather than the traditional narrative style format. Refer to Chapter 2 of the Sullivan text and the Episodic/Focused SOAP Template in the Week 5 Learning Resources for guidance. Remember that all Episodic/Focused SOAP notes have specific data included in every patient case.

With regard to the case study you were assigned:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources, and consider the insights they provide about the case study.
• Consider what history would be necessary to collect from the patient in the case study you were assigned.
• Consider what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be appropriate to gather more information about the patient’s condition. How would the results be used to make a diagnosis?
• Identify at least five possible conditions that may be considered in a differential diagnosis for the patient.

The Case Study Assignment

Use the Episodic/Focused SOAP Template and create an episodic/focused note about the patient in the case study to which you were assigned using the episodic/focused note template provided in the Week 5 resources. Provide evidence from the literature to support diagnostic tests that would be appropriate for each case. List five different possible conditions for the patient’s differential diagnosis, and justify why you selected each. 

By Day 6 of Week 9

Submit your Assignment. 

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK9Assgn1+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click the Week 9 Assignment 1 Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
• Click the Week 9 Assignment 1 link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK9Assgn1+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:Week 9 Assignment 1 Rubric

Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity

To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:Submit your Week 9 Assignment 1 draft and review the originality report.

Submit Your Assignment by Day 6 of Week 9

To participate in this Assignment:Week 9 Assignment 1

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Assignment 2: Lab Assignment (Optional): Practice Assessment: Neurological Examination

Short of opening a patient’s cranium or requesting a brain scan, what can an advanced practice nurse do to determine the cause of neurological symptoms? A multitude of techniques can be used to generate a neurological diagnosis.

In preparation for the Comprehensive (Head-to-Toe) Physical Assessment due this week, it is recommended that you practice performing a neurological examination.

Note: This is an optional practice physical assessment.

To Prepare

• Arrange an appropriate time and setting with a volunteer “patient” to perform a neurological examination.
• Download and review the Neurological Checklist provided in this week’s Learning Resources as well as review Seidel’s Guide to Physical Examination online media.

The Lab Assignment

• Perform the neurological examination. Be sure to cover all of the areas listed in the checklist and to use the plexor appropriately.

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Assignment 3: Digital Clinical Experience: Comprehensive (Head-to-Toe) Physical Assessment

To Prepare

• Review this week’s Learning Resources, and download and review the Physical Examination Objective Data Checklist as well as the Student Checklists and Key Points documents related to neurologic system and mental status.
• Review the Shadow Health Resources provided in this week’s Learning Resources specifically the tutorial to guide you through the documentation and interpretation with the Shadow Health platform. Review the examples also provided.
• Access and login to Shadow Health using the link in the left-hand navigation of the Blackboard classroom.
• Review the Week 9 DCE Comprehensive Physical Assessment Rubric provided in the Assignment submission area for details on completing the Assessment in Shadow Health.

DCE Comprehensive Physical Assessment:

Complete the following in Shadow Health:

• Episodic/Focused Note for Comprehensive Physical Assessment of Tina Jones (180 minutes)

Note: Each Shadow Health Assessment may be attempted and reopened as many times as necessary prior to the due date to achieve 80% or better, but you must take all attempts by the Week 9 Day 7 deadline. 

Submission and Grading Information

By Day 7 of Week 9

• Complete your Comprehensive (Head-to-Toe) Physical Assessment DCE Assignment in Shadow Health via the Shadow Health link in Blackboard.
• Once you complete your Assignment in Shadow Health, you will need to download your lab pass and upload it to the corresponding Assignment in Blackboard for your faculty review. 
• (Note: Please save your lab pass as “LastName_FirstName_AssignmentName”.) You can find instructions for downloading your lab pass here: https://link.shadowhealth.com/download-lab-pass
• Your instructor will review your documentation within Shadow Health for grading. There is no need to upload your documentation.
• Download, sign, date, and submit your Student Acknowledgement Form found in the Learning Resources for this week.

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:Week 9 Assignment 3 DCE Rubric

Submit Your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 9

To participate in this Assignment:Week 9 DCE and Documentation Notes for Assignment 3 To Submit your Student Aknowledgement Form:Submit your Week 9 Assignment 3 DCE Student Acknowledgement Form

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What’s Coming Up in Week 10?

Week 10 Required Media

Next Week

To go to the next week:Week 10

 

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