Describe the purpose of assessment in Adult nursing Essay

Describe the purpose of assessment in Adult nursing - Essay Example Emotional and social factors on the other hand include occupation, responsibilities, family ties, attitude towards health care, emotional tone and mood (Dougherty & Lister, 2011). Nursing assessment is essential as it is the foundation of an effective nursing care plan. A comprehensive nursing assessment is conducted by a registered nurse and it can be defined as extensive and ongoing collection of data for families, individuals and communities at large. This ongoing data collection is a method of addressing emergent and anticipated changes in the health of an individual in comparison to the previous condition. Older people need continuing health care because of their interrelated health care problems. Nursing assessment for the adults is done to ensure that they get the appropriate timely and effective response to their health problems and needs (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2011). There is another type of nursing assessment known as the focused nursing. According to the national council of states boards of nursing (2011), this is an appraisal of the health status of an individual making a contribution to comprehensive assessment to support the ongoing data collection. Focused assessment also helps the nurses to make a decision of who needs to be given the information and when it is appropriate to do so. Focused assessment is specific on patients in emergency. Assessment is usually the first step in the nursing process thus it is the basis for a good health care plan (Schaller-Ayers & Fuller, 2000). The crucial details for making accurate assessments are to view all patients holistically in order to identify their needs. Assessment is not just a mere collection of data but involves the critical thinking of nurses to validate and synthesize the information to make informed judgements of the life process of individuals (Standing, 2010). It is about understanding and describing