NURS 6512 Child Assessment Assignment

NURS 6512 Child Assessment Assignment

NURS 6512 Child Assessment Assignment

A nurse is assessing a 3-year-old child at a well-child visit. Which of the following should the nurse report to the provider?

When seeking to identify a patient’s health condition, advanced practice nurses can use a diverse selection of diagnostic tests and assessment tools; however, different factors affect the validity and reliability of the results produced by these tests or tools. Nurses must be aware of these factors in order to select the most appropriate test or tool and to accurately interpret the results. NURS 6512 Week 3 Assessment Tools and Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children

Much information can be obtained by observing the
child’s spontaneous activities while the history is
being conducted, without touching the child.

NURS 6512 Child Assessment Assignment

For this
purpose it is useful to have an age-appropriate toy
available. Approach infants and young children slowly
and start by playing with them to gain their trust.
For a young child, do as much of the physical
examination as possible with the child either being
held by the parent or caregiver or supported on that
person’s lap.
Generally, the least stressful parts of the exam should
come first, with more intrusive or distressing parts
later (for example, examination of the pharynx and/
or ears with the child restrained). Allowing the child
to play with the equipment can often decrease anxiety
about certain parts of the exam.

NURS 6512 Child Assessment Assignment
One must choose the quietest moment to do the
respiratory and cardiac exam. This is usually at
the beginning of the exam. The order of the
examination must be varied to suit the situation.
Care should be taken to select appropriate-sized
equipment when examining a child (for example,
blood pressure cuff width should be greater than twothirds of the length of the upper arm).
General Appearance
Without touching the child, observe (if applicable):
– Level of consciousness, alertness, general
behaviour and appearance (how well the infant/
child looks)
– Symmetry of body
– Posture of limbs (flexed, extended)
– Body movements (for example, arms and legs,
facial grimace)
– State of nutrition and hydration
– Colour
– Any sign of clinical distress (for example,
respiratory distress includes dyspnea, pallor,
cyanosis, irritability)
– Gait
– Breathing frequency and pattern
– Responses to sound
– Fine and gross motor skills as the child plays
– Lesions (for example, petechiae, eczema, impetigo)
– Responses to parental comforting measures
– Ability to entertain themself while the caregiver is
talking