Final answer:
An effective open-ended question for assessing a patient with chest pain is asking them to describe the pain they feel. Additional questions about accompanying symptoms and a physical examination that may include auscultation and diagnostic tests like chest radiography can offer further insights into their health status.
Step-by-step explanation:
An appropriate open-ended question a nurse can ask a patient with chest pain to obtain helpful information about the patient's health status could be: "Can you describe the chest pain that you are experiencing?" This question allows the nurse to gather information on the quality, severity, and duration of the pain, which are important in assessing the patient's health condition. Complementing this question, the nurse may also inquire about other symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, or the presence of other conditions like diabetes or asthma, which could provide crucial context for the patient's current health status.
Related Diagnostic Techniques
Furthermore, the nurse may use various diagnostic techniques, such as auscultation using a stethoscope, to listen for abnormal heart and lung sounds that could indicate conditions such as angina, pneumonia, or acute myocardial infarction (MI). The presence of symptoms such as a "pins-and-needles" sensation, an elevated heart rate, or crackling sounds in the lungs, as well as diagnostic tests like chest radiography, can help confirm the diagnosis and guide treatment.