Title / Advanced Physical Assessment - Child
Code / NA7130
Level / 7
Credit rating / 20
Pre-requisites / Applicants should:
- normally hold a first degree or demonstrate the ability to study at Master’s level
- normally have a minimum of three years post qualifying experience
- be employed in clinical practice for a minimum of 15 hours per week including the care of children and young people
- hold a Registered Nurse Child qualification
Type of module / Extensive over two semesters
Aims / This module aims to:
Enable health practitioners’ to carry out advanced, holistic health assessment of presenting infants, children and young people; including history taking, child development, and clinical examination.
Develop health practitioners’ ability to analyse the assessment findings, formulate differential diagnoses and contribute to advanced inter professional clinical decision- making.
Learning outcomes/objectives / The student will be able to:
- Critically construct a comprehensive and holistic child health history, which incorporates child development, psychosocial and family dimensions
- Clinically examine children and young people critically integrating a structured physical assessment with appropriate techniques and tools and communication skills
- Synthesise safeguard children and young people through
Learning outcomes/objectives continued / b) Appraisal and management of risks
c) Appraised assessment of indicative signs of abuse
- Formulate differential diagnoses
- Critically appraise and interpret findings and communicate them to other health care professionals as appropriate
- Propose further investigations and /or referral as necessary
- Select appraised communication and interpersonal skills for engaging with children, young people and their families
- Appraise assessment findings to contribute to clinical decision making
- Critically reflect upon, synthesise and challenge practice experience and own decision-making for best practice
- Select, record and communicate appropriately their actions, findings and clinical decisions
Content /
- Overview of physical assessment and clinical examination strategies and skills for infants, children and young people.
- Legal, ethical and professional issues regarding physical assessment and clinical examination of infants, children and young people
- Role clarification: policy and cultural impact on role change
- History taking; clinical reasoning and decision making, and documentation
- Critical holistic assessment of the following systems focusing on infants, children and young people:
Nervous system Gastrointestinal
Musculoskeletal Integumentary
Ears, Nose, Throat & Eyes
Mental Health The Newborn/Infant
- Critical holistic assessment of indicative signs of abuse in childhood
Teaching and learning strategies / Teaching will be provided by provided by Faculty staff and invited multi- disciplinary clinical staff. Expert patients and parents contribute to the practice component of this module learning.
Teaching and learning strategies continued / Teaching and learning strategies will include:
Lectures; practical demonstration of assessment techniques and history taking; simulation manikins; supervised practice; Action Learning Sets and tutorials.
Use of CD Rom, DVD’s, videos, audio tapes and child clinical teaching dolls.
Students will be responsible for negotiating time with suitable mentors in practice who are willing to provide clinical teaching and supervision in order for the student to develop their assessment skills in practice.
Module hours: 200
70 taught 70 practice hours 60 hours self directed study
Learning support / Indicative reading:
Barnes K (Ed) 2003 Paediatrics: A clinical guide for Nurse Practitioners. Butterworth Heineman Elsevier
Engel J K 2006 Pediatric Assessment Fifth Edition Mosby Elsevier
Duderstadt K G 2006 Pediatric Physical Examination Mosby Elsevier
Goldbloom R 2002 Pediatric Clinical Skills 3rd Edition. Saunders. Elsevier
Albright E K 2003 Pediatric History and Physical Examination 4th Edition Current Clinical Strategies Publishing California
Bickley L and P Szilagyi 2003 Bates’ Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking 8th edition Philadelphia Lippincott
Porth C 2005 Pathophysiology: Concepts of Altered Health States
7th edition Philadelphia Lippincott Williams and Wilkins
Learning support continued / O’Callaghan C, W Stannard & N Blackwell 2001 Paediatric Respiratory Examination OCB media DVD
McKean M, C O’Callaghan & M Runciman 2006 Paediatic Cardiovascular Examination OCB media DVD
The changing range of websites will be provided within the module handbook and on studentcentral
Assessment tasks / The student will undertake two assessment tasks: clinical practice (50%) and theory (50%). Both assessments tasks must be passed in order to achieve a minimum of 50% in order to pass the module.
Clinical Practice 50%
- A portfolio of practice evidence demonstrating safe practice and clear clinical reasoning in the interpretation of findings, the formulation of differential diagnoses and clinical decision making. The portfolio of evidence will be assessed by an advanced practitioner or consultant nurse expert in the field.
b) Two in depth education assessment sheets (as above)
signed by mentors, and fully referenced for each of the 9
skills:
- newborn/infant respiratory
- cardiovascular neurological
- gastrointestinal musculoskeletal
- integumentary mental health
- ears, nose, throat and eyes
Assessment tasks continued / Theory 50%
2.Objective Structured Clinical Examination
The student will be assessed in three of the following:
Respiratory; cardiovascular; neurological; ear, nose and throat, and or gastrointestinal systems, and/or examination of the newborn/infant. Students will presented with a scenario and be assessed on integration of the skill, their underpinning knowledge in interpreting the significance of the findings and the formulation of differential diagnoses. The student will be assessed by advanced practitioners and senior lecturers expert in this field.
Brief description of module content and/or aims / This module will have shared delivery of the taught component with the Level 6 module ( NH3141:Child Physical Assessment). It has been developed to support new and autonomous nursing roles developed in response to national policy (SfH 2003 , DH 2004, DH 2006a, DH 2006b, DH 2007) and practice development in health care (DfES/DH 2004, DH 2004). It aims to develop advanced knowledge and skills in the holistic health assessment of presenting infants, children and young people; including history taking, child development, clinical examination, interpretation of findings and the formulation of differential diagnoses.
Area examination board to which module relates / Graduate Division, School of Nursing and Midwifery
Module team/authors/ coordinator / Jill Durrant (Module Leader)
Annie Chellel, Jason Gray,
Semester offered, where appropriate / Semester One
Site where delivered / Brighton
Date of first approval / May 2009
Date of last revision
Date of approval of this version / May 2009
Version number / 1
Replacement for previous module
Field for which module is acceptable and status / Nursing and registered health care professionals
Course(s) for which module is acceptable and status in course / Graduate Division SNM: optional/mandatory
Institute of Post Graduate Medicine: optional/mandatory MSc Nurse Practitioner- child health pathway: mandatory/mandatory
MSc Clinical Studies: optional/mandatory
MSc Child Health: optional/mandatory
School home / School of Nursing and Midwifery
External examiner / Doris Corkin
Knowledge and Skills Framework / Core Dimensions:
Communication: L4
Develop own knowledge and skills: L4
Health, safety and security: L4
Service Improvement: L3
Quality: L4
Equality and diversity: L3
Health & Wellbeing (HWB) 2 Assessment & Care Planning: L4
HWB 3 Protection: L4
HWB 5 Provision of care: L5
HWB 6 Assessment & treatment planning: L4
HWB 7 Interventions & treatment: L4