Final answer:
The subjective portion of the medical note includes a patient's experience of their symptoms and personal health observations, which cannot be objectively measured but are essential for diagnosis and treatment.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subjective portion of the medical note comprises information reported by the patient regarding their personal experience of illness and symptoms. It typically includes descriptions of pain, nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue, and other symptoms that cannot be objectively measured but are crucial for diagnosis and treatment planning. For instance, patients may be asked to rate their pain using tools like the Wong-Baker Faces pain-rating scale, which provides a scale from 0 to 10. Additionally, the subjective section can contain the patient's medical history, lifestyle information, and personal observations that could be relevant to their current health condition, such as feeling pins and needles in a limb, which might indicate a sensory system issue. These subjective reports are balanced with objective data from physical examinations, tests, and observations made by the healthcare team to construct a comprehensive understanding of the patient's health.