This updated Second Edition of Nursing Health Assessment: A Best Practice Approach emphasizes health promotion, risk factor reduction, evidence-based thinking, and diagnostic reasoning. The author presents strategies for adapting questions and techniques when communication is challenging, the patient's responses are unexpected, or the patient's condition changes over time. Unique features assist with application, analysis, and critical thinking skill development to better preparing students for practice.

Starting with Unit 2, all chapters follow a consistent organization to facilitate understanding: Threaded Case Study , Structure and Function Overview, Acute Assessment, Subjective Data Collection, Objective Data Collection, Evidence-based Critical Thinking, and Tables of Abnormal Findings. Each chapter requires students to use diagnostic reasoning skills to analyze data, document and communicate their findings, and plan care. Normal and abnormal findings are presented in side-by-side columns and thorough and comprehensive examinations are included for each specific topic.

Additional features, a robust ancillary program, and book-related media build on the in-text cases to reinforce correct elements of subjective and objective data collection and variations necessary for different problems, age groups, and cultures.