Exam by body system

How to examine the nose and sinuses

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.

MD / DOPA
Practice it in VR with Blocky

A light and a nasal speculum or otoscope show most nose problems.

Step by step

  1. Look outside

    Shape, deformity, swelling, skin. [1]

  2. Patency

    Block one nostril and ask the patient to breathe through the other. [1]

  3. Inside

    Tilt the head back, light: septum, turbinates, color, polyps, bleeding point. [1]

  4. Sinuses

    Press over the forehead and cheeks for tenderness. [1]

  5. Mouth and teeth

    Upper tooth infection can cause sinusitis. [1]

  6. Red flags

    One-sided blockage with bleeding, eye swelling, vision changes. [2]

Common errors

Practice it in VMS

In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

VMS cases that train this skill

20 VMS cases train this skill: open the case library

Sources

  1. Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam)
  2. NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint
  3. Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)

Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint; Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam). VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.