THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING IN THE INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF CLINICAL INTERVIEWS: RELEVANT ASPECTS

Abstract

Assessment, the first stage in the nursing process, consists of the collection, interpretation and organization of particulars about a patient, his or her family and their environment. This will provide us with basic data for future decisions and interventions. The bibliography on nursing practice consulted recommends some methods for this data collection, such as observation, physical evaluation and clinical interview, the latter being the most important. If we consider our sources of information, i.e. patient, medical record and family, it is the patient the one who constitutes the primary or direct source, medical record and family being secondary or indirect. The clinical interview is the first step in quality nursing care. Nevertheless, both the quality and the amount of those data obtained will depend on the ability on the part of the nurse to establish a nurse patient relation based on confidence, on our ability as regards observing, listening to and asking.