AbstractsMedical & Health Science

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the knowledge about assessing the mild traumatic brain injured patient by the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) as reflected in the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Acute Concussion Evaluation (ACE) Tool Kit. A descriptive cross-sectional survey research design was used to assess knowledge about the evidenced based assessment of APRNs practicing in an urgent care setting as established by the CDC for the evaluation of acute concussion. Specifically the history and physical assessment practices of the APRNs for the mild traumatic brain injured patient (MTBI) were evaluated in relationship to the CDC / ACE standards. The objective was to assess the staff of APRNs in an urgent care clinic when assessing MTBI in relation to the CDC standards. The results showed that many of the APRNs were not familiar with the ACD/ACE standards in assessing the mildly traumatic brain injured patient. The APRNs did not follow a consistent assessment tool that included standards of subtle cognitive and physical symptoms seen in the MTBI patient. Recommendations for increasing their praxis with assessing mild traumatic brain injury were made.