This assignment is intended to help you learn how to select an appropriate diagnostic test and/or procedure selection, based on health assessment data, clinical signs and symptoms, cost, risk/benefit analysis.
Overview
The American College of Radiology ACR Appropriateness Criteria ® (AC) are evidence-based guidelines to assist nurse practitioners and other providers in making the most appropriate imaging or treatment decision for a specific clinical condition. Employing these guidelines helps providers enhance quality of care and contribute to the most efficacious use of radiology.
This activity will help you learn the appropriate exams for common conditions found in primary care. It features multiple patients with common complaints seen in primary care. Here are the 12 patients and their separate complaints:
- Rick: Cough > 3 months
- Barbara: Pelvic pain with vaginal bleeding in a patient > 65 years old
- Jorge: Right lower quadrant abdominal pain
- Antonio: Left flank pain with hematuria
- Latisha: Low back pain with loss of bladder function and paresthesia in the pelvic region
- James: Motor vehicle crash (MVC) with possible pelvic fracture
- Carmen: Left ear pain with concern for mastoiditis
- Maria: Acute fall with localized tenderness and/or inability to ambulate
- Eugene: Acute cough and shortness of breath with elevated d-dimer
- Amber: Pancreatitis
- Lamar: Patient with a cough for 2 weeks
- Constance: Low back pain with radiculopathy. No paresthesia.
Action Items
- Pick three patients above and decide if imaging would be appropriate to help you diagnose the patient. If so, identify which type of study and provide rational for your choices with supporting evidence (including citation/reference in APA).
- Read your peers' postings. You may comment if you wish but no responses are required.
- Return to your original post and respond to it by explaining what you learned from your peers' work that you had not considered and/or what you find most useful for you as you prepare to become an advanced practice nurse. Discuss their chosen exams, supporting their choices or giving another choice of exam (with rationale). Tell whether you think if exams were needed or excessive and why.