Module 3: Assessment
Lesson 5
Anxiety: Comprehensive assessment (cont’d)
Physical Examination
The clinician focuses the examination on the organ systems related to the patient’s complaints. In particular, disorders of the heart and thyroid gland are typically linked to anxiety, and should be considered in the examination. Observation of displacement activities, such as the tapping of toes and fingers or the adjusting of clothing during the examination may provide important cues (Hart, 2015).
Reference:
- Hart, V. (2015). Psychiatric mental health. In M. J. Goolsby & L. Grubbs (Eds.). Advanced assessment. Interpreting the findings and formulating differential diagnoses,, 3rd ed. (pp. 498–504). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
