Childrens’ Functional Health Assessment Essay

Short Answer Questions Address the following based on the above assessment findings. Expected answers will be 1-2 paragraphs in length. Cite and reference outside sources used. 1) Compare and contrast identified similarities as well as differences in expected assessment across the childhood age groups. As a child moves from being a toddler through preschool to school-aged, they are faced with many challenges to overcome. Development growth, which is subject to the child’s environment and sphere of influential people and pressures in their lives, is directly shaped and guided by their family’s culture, religion and value/belief system. The differences are seen in how each developmental phase interacts and responds within each health assessment pattern. The toddler and preschool child need more structure and routine, whether it’s brushing their teeth, eating or bedtime rituals. School-aged children take the values and learned behaviors of being a toddler and build upon them as they move toward building their own self-concept and sense of identity. There are similarities as the children strive for autonomy and the ability to express themselves verbally. As the child continues to learn, they will develop an understanding of good behaviors and bad behaviors. Play continues to be the primary activity for preschoolers as well as for toddlers. Preschoolers venture farther from home than toddlers do and many of their activities involve other children and involve modeling behavior. Pre-schoolers prolong bedtime routines more often than the toddler. They respond more maturely to stress than do toddlers. The preschooler has a longer and more rigid bedtime ritual than the toddler. School-age children, unlike toddlers and preschoolers experience few difficulties with going to bed (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). 2) Summarize how a nurse would handle physical assessments, examinations, education, and communication differently with children versus adults. Consider spirituality and cultural differences in your answer. According to Javis (2012), children should be treated as equal partners in the health care triad. Nurses should include the child in the introductory stage of the interview. When dealing the toddler and preschooler, the nurse should interact with the caregiver first, giving the child the opportunity to see the nurse’s interaction with their caregiver. This allows the child to see that the caregiver has accepted and trusts the nurse. For the toddler and the preschooler, the parent will be providing most, if not all of the health history. With the pre-school-age population, they may be the sole source of important data to the history (Jarvis, 2012). Strategies that the nurse might incorporate include awareness of the various developmental stages that children go through. When performing a physical assessment, toddlers and preschoolers should sit on their parents laps while school-age should sit on a Big boys or Big girls examining bed; nurse should be at an eye level maintain privacy, and should use for praise cooperation. When talking to the child and explaining concepts the nurse should use simple language that the child can understand. The nurse should allow the child to hold instruments, like a stethoscope, during the physical exam to help them feel like they are involved in their own care. Sharing reading materials or media to look at can help divert their attention away from the nurse (Jarvis, 2012). References Edelman, L. & Mandle, L. (2010). Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span (7th ed). Retrieved from https://pageburstls.elsevier.com. Physical Examination & Health Assessment 6thed. St. Louis, MI: Mosby. Retrieved from https://pageburstls.elsevier.com