HEALTH ASSESSMENT - ADULT - 2025/6

Module Overview

 

This module enables students to apply a consultation process for the individual and the develop a patient centred management plan.  

 

Students will be equipped to undertake a health assessment of the patient/client across the body systems to identify a patient’s health care needs, complete a structured assessment, confidently recognise normal vs abnormal parameters for the individual, and use their findings to develop differential diagnoses. 

Module provider

School of Health Sciences

Module Leader

STOBBART Mark (Health Sci.)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

Recognised healthcare professional qualification and current professional registration with the NMC, HCPC, GPhC.     Employed within UK healthcare as a registered healthcare professional.      Access to a supervisor for a minimum of 15 hours. At minimum the supervisor will be a registrant with the GMC, NMC, HCPC or GPhC who has successfully completed a level 6 or 7 Health Assessment module, or equivalent.      For MSc ACP students your supervisor will be an advanced practitioner with a minimum of three years autonomous working at advanced practice level or Doctor with the required knowledge and skills. 

Module content

Indicative content includes: 

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  Multi-professional working 
  


• 
  Consultation models 
  


• 
  Clinical decision-making theories 
  


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  History taking 
  


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  Body system-based health assessments, including general survey, respiratory, cardiac, gastro-intestinal, neurological, musculoskeletal, skin, mental health, ear, nose and throat. 
  

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

NA

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills of health assessment for a range of body systems.  Students will be empowered to evaluate the effectiveness of their consultation strategies and reflect on how these can be strengthened. Students will engage in critical analysis of their assessment findings in conjunction with clinical evidence to identify appropriate differential diagnoses, and subsequently develop an appropriate patient centred management plan.    

 

In line with Professional and Regulatory Codes of Practice/Standards of Proficiency, if there is a concern of unsafe practice or breach of confidentiality, the associated assessment(s) will not meet the criteria to achieve a pass.  

 

  Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of: 

• 
  Case study, 60%, 1500 words (addresses learning outcomes 1,2, 3,4)
  


• 
  OSCE, 40%, 15 minutes examination of single (unseen) system (addresses learning outcome 2) 
  


• Clinical log, Pass/Fail, (addresses learning outcomes 1,2,3, 4) 

• 
  Case study – students will submit a sample of 200 words from their developing summative case study OR will submit an A4 case study plan.  
  


• 
  OSCE – students will have the opportunity to demonstrate elements of a body system assessment within the simulation environment. 
  


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  Clinical log – Each student will identify the body systems to be formatively assessed in clinical practice. Practice-based supervisors will assess body system assessments completed on patients to promote development of health assessments skills. 
  

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  Continuous verbal feedback from lecturers within the module 
  


• 
  Verbal and written feedback from practice-based supervisors - This provides the opportunity for feedback that recognises their strengths and areas for development throughout the health assessment consultation.   
  


• 
  Peer feedback (simulation group work) 
  


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  Written online feedback - formative feedback may address the proposed case study structure, content, writing skills, critical analysis and the integration of supporting evidence. Formative submissions will generate a Turnitin score, providing opportunities for early feedback on academic practice, and where appropriate how to develop, including signposting to the academic skills and development team.   
  

Module aims

• This module aims to
  
  
  
  Enable students to develop comprehensive knowledge, understanding and experience in person centred health assessments, for a range of body systems. It will develop competence and confidence in applying decision making theories to assessment findings to develop differential diagnoses and subsequent management plans.
  

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to: 

 

• 
  Provide students with opportunities to safely apply health assessment theory and skills within the context of patient consultations and build a sound experiential foundation for a range of body system assessments.  
  


• 
  Empower students to further recognise the value of, and implement, holistic and patient centred consultations.   
  


• 
  Develop a wider range of effective clinical reasoning strategies and skills, that can be applied to familiar or new patient presentation scenarios, within a student’s identified scope of practice.  
  

• 
  Lectures 
  


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  Online – captured content addressing module content, and discussion boards as a further opportunity to share multiprofessional perspectives. 
  


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  Simulation – providing opportunities to apply health assessment theory to practice. 
  


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  Discussion – drawing on student’s current clinical experience and multi-profession perspectives. 
  


• 
  Practice based learning and supervision – application of health assessment knowledge and skills in the workplace setting.  
  

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: NURM195

Other information

The School of Health Sciences is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in the following areas:  

Employability – This module has the focus of developing healthcare practitioners to expand their clinical knowledge, understanding and competence.  All learners on the module are employed healthcare professionals who may be working towards developing their current clinical role, therefore enhancing employability is addressed continually throughout. This module is a pre-requisite to other modules that are required in specialist and advanced roles.  

Global and cultural capabilities – Learners will develop further knowledge and experience in holistic assessment of patients, including social, spiritual, and cultural determinants of health.  Within the learning and teaching strategy much of the direct contact time will be delivered in simulation, focussed on true patient case histories which allows consideration of diversity.  In addition, the online resources, as an example when looking at skin conditions, will ensure that a range of images are available demonstrating the diversity within skin colour. 

Sustainability – best practices in simulation mirror those required currently in healthcare environments, with student encouraged to consider their use of consumables resources sustainably.  In addition, the appropriateness of investigations and referrals is discussed at depth to develop skills that are transferrable into the student's professional practice. 

Resourcefulness and resilience – Increased confidence and competence in completing health assessments for a range of patients, body systems and clinical presentations will develop their clinical reasoning and management skills.  Multiprofessional communication and working will promote resourcefulness through the right person, at the right time developing appropriate patient centred care plans, to reduce risk and improve health outcomes.  

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.