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Properly identifying the cause and type of a patients skin condition involves a process of elimination known as differential diagnosis. Using this process, a health professional can take a given set of physical abnormalities, vital signs, health assessment findings, and patient descriptions of symptoms, and incrementally narrow them down until one diagnosis is determined as the most likely cause.
In this Discussion, you will examine several visual representations of various skin conditions, describe your observations, and use the techniques of differential diagnosis to determine the most likely condition.
Note:Your Discussion post should be in the SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan) note format, rather than the traditional narrative style Discussion posting format. Refer to Chapter 2 of the Sullivan text and the Comprehensive SOAP Template in this week’s Learning Resources for guidance.Remember that not all comprehensive SOAP data are included in every patient case.
To prepare:
Review the Skin Conditions document provided in this weeks Learning Resources, and select two conditions to closely examine for this Discussion.
Consider the abnormal physical characteristics you observe in the graphics you selected. How would you describe the characteristics using clinical terminologies?
Explore different conditions that could be the cause of the skin abnormalities in the graphics you selected.
Consider which of the conditions is most likely to be the correct diagnosis, and why.
Adescription of thetwographics you selected (identify each graphic by number). to explain the physical characteristics featured in each graphic. Formulate a differential diagnosis ofthree to fivepossible conditions for each. Determine which is most likely to be the correct diagnosis, and explain your reasoning.
REMINDERS:
Please follow the Note above. Do and check it out on the uploaded file the SOAP exemplar and template as your outline for your writings No traditional essay on this assignment, again use SOAP note. Thank you.
Required Resources
| Note:Because the information in this course is so vital, a large number of resources are provided in various formats to facilitate your competence in diagnosing a wide variety of health conditions. When multiple resources are available on the same topic, select those that best meet your personal learning needs to prepare you to accurately diagnose patient health problems. |
| Note:To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in theCourse Materialssection of your Syllabus. |
Readings
Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2015).Seidel’s guide to physical examination(8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
oChapter 8, Skin, Hair, and Nails (pp. 114-165)
This chapter reviews the basic anatomy and physiology of skin, hair, and nails. The chapter also describes guidelines for proper skin, hair, and nails assessments.
Dains, J. E., Baumann, L. C., & Scheibel, P. (2016).Advanced health assessment and clinical diagnosis in primary care(5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
oChapter 28, Rashes and Skin Lesions (pp. 325-343)
