text: what is the difference between global and specific assessment in relation to nursing?   i hope im along the right lines here as my work is more in the field of social services.    a specific assessment is something that deals with an issue. (eg continence). so the assessment will assess continence and give us a guide as to how this should be treat/managed in terms of care.  the global assessment will give a more broader view (eg the continence assessment would need to be placed within the context of the full careplan).  so it would then link into how the person should be assisted to move, the times the management of continence will occur. who will be involved. how many staff. do they need training. how often the assessment will be reviewed. what if the environment changes. if the person is to be taken out on an outing, will dealing with the incontinence be enough? will they maybe need specialist equipment or a cathetor to enable them to have their continence needs managed in addition to their (just as important) social needs.  thats the definition of specific and global in my work. hope it helps but apologies if im off on a tangent. :)