GP Testing

• GP assess the appearance of patient on arrival.
• Looking for obvious signs of potential illness.
• Looking for colour/pale/flushed skin.
• Signs of pain on moving/mobility problems/breating difficulties. 

• Order to clarify problems - e.g. current medication/treatment.
• Discover patient's medical history.
• Make a diagnosis.
• GP will ask patient to describe the reason for attending surgery.
• GP refers to notes for info on previous medical complications or family history.
• GP be aware of any medications the patients on.

• Palpation
• Percussion
• Measuring Blood Pressure
• Mesuring Temperature
• Reflex Testing
• Stethoscope

• Act of feeling an area - abdominal.
• Using the fingers & the brace of the second hand.
• Application of the finger with light pressure to feel soft tissue.
• Looking for areas of tendernedd, pain reaction, lumps & bumps, heat, abnormailities - unusual for that area.

• Using 2 fingers - tap on the back of the chest - listen using a stethoscope for sound.
• Sounds define if there's a problem.
• Normal - hollow sound.
• Abnormal - thus or crackling sound - indicating fluid build up - caused by an infection.
• Using middle finger of one hand - tapping on the middle finger of the other - using a wrist action. 

• Using 2 fingers - tap on the back of the chest - listen using a stethoscope for sound.
• Sounds define if there's a problem.
• Normal - hollow sound.
• Abnormal - thus or crackling sound - indicating fluid build up - caused by an infection.
• Using middle finger of one hand - tapping on the middle finger of the other - using a wrist action. 

• Using a sphygmomanometer - digital blood pressure machine. 

1) Place cuff above elbow on upper arm.

2) Pressure exerted as cuff inflates.

3) Place a stethoscope on brachial pulse point - inside elbow to listen to the pulse.

4) Inflate cuff - until no pulse sound can be heard - blood flow to the hand is temporarily stopped - restricts arterial blood flow.

5) Gradually reduce pressure in the cuff - until 1st pulse is heard - pressure of cuff is equal to pressure in blood vessel.

6) Systolic pressure - whilst the heart is contracting.

7) Keep deflating the cuff until last pulse sound is heard - diastolic pressure - heart in between beats.

8) Reading - systolic/diastolic.

9) Measured in mmHg.

10) Normal 120/80.

11) Abnormal - diastolic pressure over 95 - hypertension.

• Using a digital thermometer.
• Placed in loaction - forehead or mouth.
• Place in ear - closest to core temperature - for a set time until it beeps.
• Remove & record temperature.
• Normal - 37C
• Abnormal - 38C+ - indicated fever due to infection - below 35C - indicates hyperthermia.

• Determines problem with nerve pathways.
• Knee jerk test.
• Leg is relaxed - weight of leg supported by thigh.
• Rubber relfex hammer - knock just under knee cap - leg hanging down.
• Causing tendons to stretch - in a direction which isn't normal.
• Sensory neurones pick up stimulus - transmit impulse to reflec arch in spine.
• Impulse sent back to motor neurone - induce knee jerk movement.
• If it doesn't knee jerk - indicate problem in nerve pathway.

• Medical instrument - used for listening to areas of the body - lungs, chest, heart.
• Medical disks at the end of tubes - have ear pieces on the end.
• Channesl sounds towards ear pieces.
• Sounds aren't amplifies.
• Help to diagnose problems - lung infection - cracking sounds - mucus membrance are pulling apart during breathing.
• Used to diagnose problems in intestinal tract. 

• When a GP taken medical history & examined them - maybe in a position to make diagnosis.
• Complexity of body - number of possible diagnosis - undertake further tests.
• Blood/Urine samples.
• Further diagnosis is needed.

• Contain patient's medical history.
• Medical database - CDSS - clinical decision support system.
• Use database - put described symptoms into database - give number of possible conditions.
• Help encourage other possible conditions.
• + - reduces medical errors in diagnosis.
• - - too much reliabel on system instead using own knowledge.

• Once diagnosis made - maybe necessary to make referral to hopsital - for treatment or medical consultant.
• Cariologist - heart & circulation system.
• Oncology - cancer.