Perform a structured general survey on entry — appearance, posture, distress, hygiene, and interaction — before the focused assessment.
Compare today's gestalt to the patient's baseline, drawing on prior visits.
Quantify constitutional symptoms — the amount and timeframe of a weight change, the impact of fatigue on specific function, and the pattern of fever or night sweats.
Recognize symptom clusters — for example fever plus tachycardia plus tachypnea plus altered mentation — and connect them to the vital-sign set.
Use the general survey to direct the focused, system-specific assessment that follows.
