Physical assessment by nurses: A study of nurses' use of chest auscultation as an indicator of their assessment practices
Kaye Lorraine Lont
Associate Lecturer, Faculty of Nursing, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds VIC
PP: 093 - 097
Abstract
A non-experimental survey was conducted to determine if the factors such as years of practice, how physical assessment skills were learnt and how often these skills were utilised, influenced nurses' reluctance to implement physical assessment. A sample of 150 registered nurses was surveyed.
Analysis indicated that the majority of respondents has been taught to listen to chest sounds (auscultation) but did not implement this skill on a daily basis. Chi square analysis indicated that younger nurses with less years of experience were more keen to learn chest auscultation skills than nurses who were older and had more years of nursing experience.
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