Diagnostic test and investigation – Nursing is a profession within the healthcare sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other healthcare providers by their approach to patient care, training, and scope of practice. Nurses practice in many specialisms with differing levels of prescriber authority.
Many nurses provide care within the ordering scope of physicians, and this traditional role has shaped the public image of nurses as care providers. However, nurses are permitted by most jurisdictions to practice independently in a variety of settings depending on training level. In the postwar period, nurse education has undergone a process of diversification towards advanced and specialized credentials, and many of the traditional regulations and provider roles are changing.
Nurses develop a plan of care, working collaboratively with physicians, therapists, the patient, the patient’s family, and other team members, that focus on treating illness to improve quality of life. Nurses may help coordinate the patient care performed by other members of an interdisciplinary healthcare team such as therapists, medical practitioners, and dietitians. Nurses provide care both interdependently, for example, with physicians, and independently as nursing professionals.
Diagnostic test and investigation
Definition of Diagnostic Test/Medical Test
A diagnostic test is any approach used to gather clinical information for the purpose of making a clinical decision (i.e., diagnosis). Some examples of diagnostic tests include X-rays, biopsies, pregnancy tests, medical histories, and results from physical examinations.
Definition of Investigation
Investigating is the process of inquiring into or following up; research; study; inquiry, especially patient or thorough inquiry or examination; as, the investigations of the philosopher and the mathematician, the investigations of the judge, the moralist
Purposes of Diagnostic Test/Medical Test
The purpose of diagnosing, monitoring, screening and prognosis, in vitro diagnostic tests are essential at every step.
Diagnostic
A diagnostic test is a procedure performed to confirm or determine the presence of disease in an individual suspected of having a disease, usually following the report of symptoms, or based on other medical test results. This includes posthumous diagnosis. Examples of such tests are:
- Using nuclear medicine to examine a patient suspected of having a lymphoma.
- Measuring the blood sugar in a person suspected of having diabetes mellitus after periods of increased urination.
- Taking a complete blood count of an individual experiencing a high fever to check for a bacterial infection.
- Monitoring electrocardiogram readings on a patient suffering chest pain to diagnose or determine any heart irregularities.
Screening
Screening refers to a medical test or series of tests used to detect or predict the presence of disease in at risk individuals within a defined group such as a population, family, or workforce. Screenings may be performed to monitor disease prevalence, manage epidemiology, aid in prevention, or strictly for statistical purposes.
- Examples of screenings include measuring the level ofTSHin the blood of a newborn infant as part of newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism, checking for Lung cancer in non-smoking individuals who are exposed to second-hand smoke in an unregulated working environment, and Pap smear screening for prevention or early detection of cervical cancer.
Monitoring
Some medical tests are used to monitor the progress of, or response to medical treatment.
Prognosis
It allows clinicians to assess the likelihood a patient has for developing a disease in the future and therefore take precautions earlier rather than later. Genetic tests, for example, analyze a patient’s predisposition for developing a disease, allowing the patient and doctor to be more attentive to discovering early signs of the disease and to take preventive measures as needed.
Types of Diagnostic Test
Diagnostic tests are either noninvasive or invasive
Noninvasive
Noninvasive means the body is not entered with any type of instrument. The skin and other body tissues, organs, and cavities remain intact.
- E.g.- Radiography, fluoroscopy, ultrasonography, echocardiography, pulse-taking, the auscultation of heart sounds and lung sounds (using the stethoscope), temperature examination (using thermometers), respiratory examination and many others.
Invasive
Invasive means accessing the body’s tissue, organ, or cavity through some type of instrumentation procedure.
- E.g.- A good example is taking a blood sample, catheterization, incision, open surgeries etc.
Clinical Values of Diagnostic Test
Nurses are often the first to view results of laboratory studies, and they need to know the terminology regarding laboratory tests: purpose, process, procedure, and normal test values. The clinical value of a diagnostic test is related to:
- Specificity the ability of a test to correctly identify those individuals who do not have the disease.
- Sensitivity the ability of a test to correctly identify those individuals who have the disease
- Incidence the prevalence of a disease in a population or community; the predictive value of the same test can be different when applied to people of differing ages, genders, and geographic oceans.
- Predictive value the ability of screening test results to correctly identify the disease state a true positive correctly identifies persons who actually have the disease, whereas a true negative correctly identifies persons who do not actually have the disease.
Role and Responsibility for the Diagnostic Testing
- Record medical history and symptoms.
- Collaborate with team to diagnostic testing.
- Advocate for health and wellbeing of patient.
- Monitor patient health and record signs.
- Preparing equipment for diagnostic testing.
- Prepare the patient.
- Assistant with testing.
- Monitor patients during testing.
- Reporting result.
- Operate medical equipment.
- Perform diagnostic tests.
- Educate patients about management of illnesses.
- Provide support and advice to patients.
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