Conducting A Risk Assessment For The Clinic Essay

Conducting a Risk Assessment A 25-year-old patient has presented to the clinic today. The patient reports that she is homeless, a type II diabetic, HIV positive, and currently pregnant with a gestational age of 25 weeks. The patient also reports that she was previously seen at a community health clinic that has since closed due to monetary factors. At this point during the initial prenatal visit, the provider should perform a risk assessment on this patient. Prior to conducting the risk assessment, the provider should ensure that the patient is as comfortable as possible during the interview process. The provider should maintain a conversational voice, sit in front of the patient, and maintain eye contact during the interview (Balls, Dains, Flynn, Solomon, & Stewart, 2015). By conducting the interview and risk assessment in this manner, it will be easier to develop rapport with the patient which is essential for the client-provider relationship. The risk assessment is essentially a screening of the patient’s physical, historical, and psychological aspects (Youngkin, Davis, Schadewald, & Juve, 2013). Screening should be performed to detect maternal and paternal risk factors including genetic defects, preterm labor screening, substance abuse screening, nutritional status and weight gain during pregnancy, and assessment of prenatal attachment (Youngkin et al., 2013). Risk assessments should always be conducted during the initial prenatal, during each trimester, and as…