This assignment will be based on the pre-assessment process that patients go through upon arrival at an endoscopy unit in which I was placed during my second year of adult nursing studies. I will explore a patient's holistic needs, identifying the priorities of care the patient requires; I will then highlight a particular priority and give the reasons behind it. During an admission that I completed under the supervision of my mentor, I was pre-assessing a 37-year-old lady who arrived at the unit for an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. During the pre-assessment, it was important that a holistic assessment was carried out, as each patient is an individual with unique care needs. As the patient described in this work has learning disabilities, it was imperative to identify any barriers to communication (Nursing standards 2006). A number of nursing priorities have been identified. The patient also suffers from hypertension. The key nursing priority for this patient concerns her learning disabilities and the potential barriers to communication that may arise. The patient's hypertension is well controlled with medication. For these reasons, I will focus this assignment on communication barriers with people with learning disabilities, the importance of good communication between the multidisciplinary team within the unit. I will also explore any issues related to consent to the procedure, as it is imperative that the patient is fully aware of the procedure and understands the possible risks and complications. I introduced myself to the patient, telling him that I was a nursing student, and obtained verbal consent. Continue with the assessment, as a student nurse you must respect the patient's wishes at all times, if...... middle of paper ...... fully aware of what the procedure entails and possible risks and complications. I think the pre-assessment form used within the unit is far from fundamental. If elements of Roper et al's daily activities were to be incorporated, this would help achieve a much more in-depth holistic nursing assessment allowing the best quality and level of care to be provided to all patients arriving on the unit. Although I feel that a full nursing assessment is not entirely necessary for a day care unit, as stated previously, I feel that the element of communication is a great way to ensure a better holistic approach, it will also help achieve better documentation and communication between all staff members. Good documentation remains compliant with the NMC 2008 Code of Professional Conduct and promotes better communication (NMC 2008).