Topic 2 DQ 2
Physical health assessment is a structured physical examination that allows a nurse to obtain a complete assessment of the patient’s health status. Typically, the techniques that should be applied to the physical assessment process: Are inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation (Registered Nursing, 2021).
Before the actual physical assessment, the patient undergoes an interview to collect medical information. While this might be an easy process for adults and older children, getting information from a young child requires a lot of strategies and patience (Registered Nursing, 2021)
To get information from young children, the nurse would have to rely on their mothers to provide the data while at the same time engaging the child by talking to him/her through the interview process. The nurse must develop a good rapport with the child to gain his/her full Cooperations; listening and using appropriate communication techniques are essential in this process. A calm and reassuring manner of the nurse will help to gain a child’s confidence; use Suitable toys or other aids can be used to help the child interact with the nurse (Registered Nursing, 2021)
During the interview, the nurse can begin by asking the child trivial questions like his/her name, favorite food, cartoon character, etc., and then subtly lead to the questions that might help assess the child’s health status.
In the case of adults and older children, the interview can begin directly. When it comes to physical examination of the body, again, the approach will have to be different for a young child than an adult or older child. A child might not like someone else touches him/her. The nurse will have to win the trust, and the parent will have to be there to reassure the child. If the child is in pain, then examining that part of the body might be a bit more complicated, but again tactics and communication skills of the nurse will help (Registered Nursing, 2021).
For grown-ups, the physical examinations will be much easier because they know what is happening and why it is happening. On the other hand, a young child might be scared of the instruments used to examine them. The nurse should engage in active listening with an adult patient while paying attention to verbal and nonverbal cues. Ask open-ended questions that would allow the patient to detail the actual symptoms needed to ascertain what is happening to the patient. (Walden University, 2021) Be empathetic with an adult patient by saying you understand what he/she is going through so that you can gain his/her trust in the interview process. The nurse can also validate and reassure the patient that their problems would be addressed while in your care. Another strategy is transitions and empowerment of the patient in the interview process to help alleviate their fear of the unknown in the current health issues(Walden University, 2021).So, physical assessment of a child will differ from an adult intact, but the techniques are the same.
Respond to the above post using 200-300 words APA format with reference by supporting the discussion.
Compare the physical assessment of a child to that of an adult. In addition to describing the similar/different aspects of the physical assessment, explain how the nurse would offer instruction during the assessment, how communication would be adapted to offer explanations, and what strategies the nurse would use to encourage engagement.
