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By Janean Johnson, MSN, RN, CNE, and Beth Cusatis Phillips, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE

Assessment is the first step in the nursing process and an essential skill for all nurses. Nevertheless, little evidence supports the direct connection between a thorough nursing assessment to improved patient outcomes. In looking into the topic, the authors identified that eliminating nonessential assessment skills from a nursing course could allow students to spend more time focusing on the essential assessment skills that are required to safely care for patients in the various settings of nurses’ work. Using essential assessment skills when encountering or caring for a patient improves the nurse’s ability to observe and recognize subtle cues, interpret or gather additional information or data, and respond to the patient’s health care needs.

You can access the research brief here.