Approach to Assessment

Topic Progress:

Pearls for the Assessment Framework

1. Assess the same way, every time.
2. The framework is a way to organize your thoughts.
3. There may be times where the assessment framework steps need to be changed and that’s ok!

Preparation, PPE, pre-registration and priorities are things to consider before you start your assessment.


The primary assessment is meant to look for threats to life.


Urgent critical actions are interventions that should be implemented if you find problems in the primary assessment.


The secondary assessment collects the history of the presenting illness to the hospital, though this is often covered in report or in the chart.


30 and 60 minutes are just guidelines for decision making.


Re-assessments are data points you will re-evaluate to assess if the patient is improving or worsening.


Potential failures are a step in the framework that allow you to consider if any part of care has been missed.

1 thought on “Approach to Assessment”

  1. Michael Ofina

    The framework help us nurses to assess and intervene right away according to the problem is that the patient is presenting ( Airway,Breathing,Circulation, Disability, and Exposure), the frame work provides me appropriate assessment skills and interventions that is needed in dealing with Covid Pt.

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