Physical Examination
please respond to the following post with a long paragraph with your opinion, add citations and references.
There are many similarities when conducting a physical assessment on both a child or an adult, however, a child requires more patience and understanding. When performing a head-to-toe assessment on a child, like for an adult assessment, it is important to explain what you are about to do. However, for a child assessment, it is also very important to tell the child that what you are about to do will not hurt. A good assessment strategy when conducting a physical examination of a child would be to let them play with the equipment to ensure that it is not in any danger to them. For example, when a nurse or physician is auscultating lungs, heart or stomach, a good strategy would be to let the child play with the stethoscope first and even allow them to use the stethoscope on the examiner to show the child that the stethoscope will not hurt them. Not only does it prove to the child that the equipment will not harm them, but it also allows the child to be more engaged in the assessment and creates a bond between the healthcare worker and the child. Avoiding medical jargon should be done for both a child and an adult, however, children oftentimes cannot comprehend some terms, for example, taking blood pressure. The child can mistaken this as the examiner taking actual blood from them. Rather than saying, “I’m going to take your blood pressure,” saying, “This is a hugging sleeve and I’m going to put the sleeve around your arm so it can give you a big hug,” would create a better reaction and likely to have the child comply (Burks, 2016).
Burks, J. (2016, October 14). Pediatric Nursing Assessment In the Community and Home Health: Pearls of Wisdom. Retrieved from https://www.relias.com/
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