In a secondary assessment, what should you primarily obtain?

• A. Check pulse oximetry
• B. Administer medications
• C. Obtain a patient's history
• D. Apply splinting

Answer: (C)

During a secondary assessment, the focus is on gathering information that explains what happened and what the patient is experiencing, which is the patient’s history. This history—often collected with a structured approach like SAMPLE (Signs and symptoms, Allergies, Medications, Past medical history, Last oral intake, Events leading up to the incident)—provides the context you need to understand the patient’s condition, identify potential complications, and guide further care and decision-making.

Vital signs and a head-to-toe examination are also performed in the secondary survey, but they serve as objective data to support your understanding, not the primary data you’re collecting. Checking pulse oximetry can help assess oxygenation, yet it is part of the ongoing assessment rather than the core information about what happened to the patient. Administering medications or applying splints are actions taken to treat problems you’ve identified, not the main information you obtain during this step.