An introductory course to health assessment is presented with emphasis on understanding the range of normal and common abnormal findings. The focus is on individuals across the lifespan including newborn, pediatric, adult and geriatric populations. Theory and practice focus on effective interviewing for the health history, health assessment techniques and systematic method of recording data. Defining characteristics of nursing diagnoses are identified. Principles of therapeutic communication and critical thinking are emphasized. Note: This course is for majors only.