Before palpating the thyroid gland using the posterior approach,the nurse would instruct the patient to

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Palpation of the thyroid gland can be done using both anterior and posterior approaches.Using the posterior approach,the nurse should stand behind the patient and ask her to lower the chin slightly in order to relax the neck muscles.Use the fingers of the left hand to push the trachea slightly to the right.Then curve the fingers of the right hand between the trachea and the sternocleidomastoid muscle,retracting it slightly.Next,the nurse should instruct the patient to take a sip of water and swallow.The thyroid moves up under the fingers with the trachea and larynx as the person swallows.Usually the normal adult thyroid gland cannot be palpated.

Before Palpating the Thyroid Gland Using the Posterior Approach,the Nurse