Subjective vs objective data is a topic in nursing.

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Do you remember the last time you were sick?Did you have a common cold?Is it possible you had pain?How bad was it?When did it start?Where was it located?At the doctor's office, someone might ask you these types of questions.It's possible that you didn't realize how important your responses were for the doctor to know how to help you.

The health assessment involves collecting information through communication and subjective data in nursing.The patients are asked why they are in the doctor's office.The subjective data is what they say.Patients complain about their physical symptoms.This can be anything from pain to itching.They say they are having problems with their bodies, such as coughing, vomiting or muscle spasms.

Patients may mention health concerns related to their beliefs, attitudes and perception.They might think they have a particular illness because they researched it on the internet.Some patients want a doctor's check-up because they feel healthy.When gathering subjective data, it's important to listen to what patients are saying.

The data that is collected from patients is called objective data.Medical professionals get the data from seeing, hearing, smelling and touching.Patient behaviors, actions and information gathered from the physical examination can be included.

Someone may use the phrase'signs and symptoms' when talking about patient problems.The signs and symptoms are related to the data.Here is a way to tell them apart.The words'subjective' and'says' both begin with the letter 'S.'

The data can be subjective and objective at the same time.Check out the examples of both subjective and objective data.

Sometimes subjective and objective data do not match.Observations of the patient's symptom or belief reveal something different.Have you heard of white coat syndrome?When healthy patients are anxious about seeing a doctor, their blood pressure can go up.When gathering the subjective data, they may say they feel calm; however, the objective data from the elevated blood pressure reading may indicate that they are actually nervous.

Our example is with the common cold.If you had described your symptoms as having a cold, you would be included in the data.You may have been asked for more information about your symptoms.The subjective data would include the answers you gave.These questions could have been asked.

Your answers to the questions would help the doctor identify your problem.

When a patient complains about pain, another example can be seen.An acronym 'OLD CARTS' can be used to help make sure all areas are covered.

The subjective data about any problem can be obtained using 'OLD CARTS'.A more thorough description of the patient's symptoms can be gathered if they attempt to answer all the questions presented.A patient might say his problem is difficulty sleeping at night.He may be able to answer all the questions except for treatment, since he denies having this problem before.

Through communication, the details of the subjective data can bring more insight into what is going on with the patient.Since a patient with the flu can have the same symptoms, additional information is needed.Obtaining all key factors can help distinguish between minor and major health problems.A patient may not be aware that indigestion could be a sign of a heart attack.Subjective data is not the same as objective data, which is the data medical professionals get through observations.

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