One composite patient, two systems: an abdomen examined by inspection, auscultation, percussion and palpation, and a painful shoulder measured in degrees, as NU333 often expects in Unit 7. Searches like "nu 333 unit 7 assignment example", "nu333 unit 7 sample" and "nu333 unit 7 example" land here.
What a finished NU333 Unit 7 abdominal and musculoskeletal assessment looks like
Around three pages, abdomen first. Inspection: flat contour, no scars, and a [2 cm] umbilical bulge that appears with coughing and reduces when he lies back, nontender. Auscultation, done before palpation: bowel sounds in all four quadrants at about [10] per minute, no bruits over the aorta or renal arteries. Percussion: tympany over most of the abdomen, liver span [10 cm] in the right midclavicular line. Palpation: soft and nontender to light and deep touch, no masses, no costovertebral angle tenderness. The musculoskeletal half records posture and gait, then a joint table. The right shoulder shows tenderness over the lateral aspect, active flexion [150] degrees against [180] on the left, abduction [110] with pain from [70] to [110], and abduction strength [4] of 5. Other joints are documented as full and pain-free.
How a NU333 Unit 7 example is structured
Two systems share one document without blending, each in its own section with its own technique order. The abdomen follows inspection, auscultation, percussion, then palpation, and the note states why listening precedes touching: palpation can change bowel sounds. The bulge is described by location, size, what makes it appear, whether it reduces and whether it is tender, and naming it is left to the provider. The musculoskeletal section compares sides at every joint, since asymmetry is the finding. Range of motion is recorded in degrees against the opposite side rather than as limited, and strength uses the 0 to 5 scale with the scale named. Painful movement is written as the range in which pain occurred. Functional impact, reaching the top shelf, links the findings to the reason for the visit, and a short reporting paragraph closes the note.
Listening before touching
Auscultation comes second in the abdominal sequence, and the note says why. Palpating first can alter bowel sounds, so the order is part of the finding's reliability.
A bulge described five ways
Location, size, trigger, reducibility and tenderness are each recorded for the umbilical bulge. The words let a provider picture it without the note offering a diagnosis.
Side against side
Every joint entry compares right with left. The shoulder's limits mean little alone and a great deal beside the full range on the other side.
Degrees, not adjectives
Flexion and abduction appear as measured angles, and strength as a grade on the named 0 to 5 scale. Limited and weak do not appear anywhere in the joint table.
The shelf he cannot reach
A sentence ties the shoulder findings to the task that brought him in. Function gives the numbers their meaning and shows why the assessment matters to him.
Where marks go in NU333 Unit 7
Abdominal findings recorded in the wrong order, palpation before auscultation, draw a technique comment even when every finding is plausible. Bowel sounds described only as present, without quadrants or character, record almost nothing. The bulge written as a hernia names a diagnosis, while a bulge noted with no trigger, size or reducibility is too thin to act on. Range of motion recorded as decreased, with no degrees and no comparison side, cannot track change. Strength grades without a scale confuse readers who use a different one. Normal joints omitted because the complaint was the shoulder leave the musculoskeletal survey partial. Costovertebral angle tenderness left out of the abdominal section is a frequent omission, and missing functional impact disconnects the findings from the person they describe.
Get a NU333 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
One assignment or two? Abdominal and musculoskeletal content arrives both ways, and the sample matches whichever the Unit 7 prompt sets. With that prompt, forward the rubric and any documentation form in use; each system is written in its own technique order, sides compared and scales named throughout. First sample free, 24-48h.
NU333 Unit 7 questions, answered
Why is auscultation done before palpation in an abdominal assessment?
Because pressing on the abdomen can stimulate or alter bowel activity, which would change what you hear. The usual order for the abdomen is inspection, auscultation, percussion, then palpation, different from most other systems. Documenting in that order also shows the grader you followed it. Listen in all four quadrants before touching.
How is muscle strength graded?
Most courses use a 0 to 5 scale: 0 no contraction, 1 a flicker, 2 movement with gravity eliminated, 3 movement against gravity only, 4 movement against some resistance, and 5 full strength against resistance. Some add plus or minus signs. Record the muscle group, the side and the grade, and name the scale.
Should range of motion be measured with a goniometer?
If your course or setting requires one, yes. Otherwise, estimated degrees compared with the other side are common in nursing documentation, labeled as estimates. What matters most is a number and a comparison rather than a word like limited. Note whether the motion was active or passive and whether it caused pain.