Clinical Assessment Skills for Health Professionals

Develop your skills as a nurse/AHP so you can deliver same-day consultation services for patients. Learn to do physical exams for all body systems, and to assess common conditions and minor injuries. Learn to use and interpret diagnostic equipment. Build your clinical decision-making within the legal and professional framework of advanced practice.

Primary healthcare nurses and allied health professionals (AHPs) have the potential to provide same-day consultation services for patients, and many of them already diagnose and treat patients with minor ailments. However, this isn’t always underpinned by the appropriate education and skilling.

The need for skilled nurses and AHPs is growing: the number of primary healthcare service providers has increased greatly in recent years, and more and more patients require a same-day appointment for minor ailments. Meanwhile, within hospitals and other settings, nurses and allied health professionals (AHPs) must undertake complex interventions and roles to deliver quality care to a range of clients.

Course content

• Developing Clinical Assessment Skills – Physical examinations for all body systems using diagnostic equipment and interpreting investigations.
• Framework for Professional Practice – Legal and professional issues of advanced practice. Evidence-based practice, protocols, guidelines, reflective practice, and record-keeping.
• Communication & Psycho-Social Aspects of Healthcare – Influences on health status and health behaviour, communication skills, history-taking, record-keeping, clinical decision-making skills, and management of change.
• Assessment of Common Conditions/Injuries – Consultation assessment of common conditions/injuries.