Something you can see and observe about your patient is a

• A. Symptom
• B. Indicator
• C. Finding
• D. Sign

Answer: (D)

In patient assessment, the difference between signs and symptoms is about who observed the information. A sign is objective evidence of a disease that you can observe, measure, or verify during a physical exam or with equipment—things you can see or hear, like a rash, pallor, swelling, abnormal heart or lung sounds, or fever. Because it’s observable by you, it’s a sign. A symptom, on the other hand, is something the patient reports feeling or experiencing, such as pain, nausea, or dizziness, which isn’t directly verifiable by observation. A finding is a general term for data gathered during assessment and could refer to either signs or symptoms, but the term that specifically denotes what you can observe is sign. An indicator isn’t the standard term used for this observable phenomenon in this context.