ABSTRACT
Assessment tools are available that assess a range of areas, such as symptoms, physical risks, psychological well-being and social status. Assessment tools provide a way of gaining additional information that may help nursing students ask the right questions and decide what the answers mean. Assessment tools may allow doctors to provide patients with estimates of survival rates from certain operations. Inter-rater reliability refers to the consistency of the assessment tools when used by different people. The main problem is that there is a tendency for nurses to become too reliant on assessment tools. A study sought to establish the content validity of an oral assessment tool used in the care of children and young people with cancer. The main problem is that there is a tendency for nurses to become too reliant on assessment tools. A Cochrane Review of risk-assessment tools found that there was no evidence to suggest that their use reduced the incidence of pressure ulcers.
