You are a nurse conducting a physical assessment of a child between the ages of 3 and 12 at an urgent care clinic. Describe how your communication would be adapted to be able to effectively communicate with a patient of this age. What strategies would you use to encourage engagement with the child?
Initial discussion question posts should be a minimum of 200 words and include at least two references cited using APA format. Responses to peers or faculty should be 100-150 words and include one reference. Refer to “RN-BSN DQ Rubric” and “RN-BSN Participation Rubric,” located in Class Resources, to understand the expectations for initial discussion question posts and participation posts, respectively.
Example 1 (fnu)
The physical assessment of a child is essential to providing better healthcare services and health education. Health education is the process that enables groups and individuals to learn to promote, maintain, and restore health (Pereira et al., 2023). A physical assessment of an eight-year-old child requires the nurse to adopt communication strategies that the child can understand. Even though the child is still under the care of parents, he or she should feel involved in the physical assessment. Communicating health messages to children involves making genuine connections, providing children with the time and space to express their concerns and opinions, and responding to their opinions (Egli et al., 2024). Children at eight years old can understand language and what is required of them. Therefore, I will use simple language that they can easily understand to give instructions and explain health information. I would storytelling to understand the child better and their interests such as cartoons, music, school, friends, and family. This creates a friendliness that eliminates tension and makes them respond easily to instructions. It also makes them feel free to ask questions and feel involved in the process. Besides these, I will smile and be helpful, kind, and friendly, explain what is happening in simple language, and have a professional appearance. These strategies will ease engagement and lead to a successful physical assessment.
References
Egli, V., McIntyre, E., & Duggan, N. (2024). Communicating health information to children: is a child-rights-based approach being adopted by nurses? An integrative review. Contemporary Nurse, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/10376178.2024.2409737
Pereira, A. F., Escola, J. J. J., Almeida, C. M. T., & Rodrigues, V. M. C. P. (2023). Health education provided by nurses to children and young people: parents’ assessment. BMC Nursing, 22(1), 287. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01447-x
Example 2 (Paige)
A child of ago 3- 12 is accompanied by a parent so I would be sure to include the parent or guardian in the conversation but not talk over the child head. my language would not only be in layman’s terms but also smaller readily understood language that a child could grasp. I would pause more frequently to ask the child if they under stood what I had just said, and or what was going to happen next. I’d ask the child if they had any questions or any fears they wanted to talk about. I would also try to get the child to talk about them selves what activities they enjoy at home such as favorite movies and cartoons why they like that movie or cartoon character. A child usually picks some one they them selves want to be more like. this information can some times tell you more about them psychologically. I ask what sports they are involved in or extracurricular activities they partake in. Health children usually are involved in something other then school. talking about them selves distracts the child and gets them to focus on something besides whats happening. It given me info about their home life as well.
with smaller children it usually helps to ask if they want the procedure such as an Iv start explained to them. Which 9/10 they do want it all explained which alleviates their anxiety. I let them hold items and look it it first like the catheter in the packaging and the iv bag so this it makes things less scary while I explain how the parts work. I use positive language and encourage the child to not be afraid to touch items and how look they are. I try to get them excited about science which usually is not hard with this age group. I direct as many assessment questions as possible directly to the child the parent can correct or help when the child doesn’t know the correct answer. I try to be as warm and welcoming as possible towards the child to it puts them at easy and promotes trust. “Good rapport has a long-term agenda of providing the child with a safe, confidential, nonjudgmental place to “unburden” and discuss possible solutions to their difficulties.” (Srinath, et.al., 2019) I make sure to slow do and take time to listen to my pediatric patients because, kids’ number one most common complaint about their parents was, “They don’t listen.’” “Parents often say the same thing about their children. So if the members of a family want to communicate well, they must listen very carefully to one another.” (JW.ORG, 2024) We as health care can also apply this admnition to our patients. Children benefit most from our patience and being quick to listen to them like it says in James 1:19. “Everyone must be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger”(JW.ORG, 2024).
JW.ORG. (2024). James 1 | Online Bible | New World Translation. JW.ORG. https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/james/1/
JW.ORG.(2024). Parents, Children—Communicate With Love | Simplified. https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/ws20130515/parents-children-communicate/
Srinath, S., Jacob, P., Sharma, E., & Gautam, A. (2019). Clinical Practice Guidelines for Assessment of Children and Adolescents. Indian journal of psychiatry, 61(Suppl 2), 158–175. https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_580_18
Example 3 (Sharon)
Creating rapport to gain the trust of a child within age 3 to 12 makes communication easier and more effective ( Mills 2023). It is good to speak in simple and clear language with a smile on the face while introducing self and explaining any procedure to the child within this age group .
To encourage engagement with the child, certain strategies such as involving the child and the parents will make the child feel accepted and important, for example, I would let the child use my medical equipment such as stethoscope or thermometer while I explain the procedure making sure am in the same level with the child so he doesn’t feel intimidated, I would do this by either kneeling down to reach the child or letting his parents hold him, I would speak about what is of interest to the child such as his best cartoon or best subject in school. I would make available a comfortable environment by providing toys and color books. Pediatric patients naturally like helping, their cooperation can be won by getting them involved in the preparation for the procedure.
Developing an effective therapeutic relationship with good communication skills is important when caring for children.(Dryden, 2020)
Dryden, P. & Greenshield, S.(2020) Communicating with children and young people.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33180611/
Mills, M. (2023). 5 Effective Communication tips for Pediatric Nurses.https://www.amnhealthcare.com/blog/nursing/contract/5-tips-for-communicating-with-pediatric-patients/
Example 4 (telease)
A physical assessment of a child aged 3–12 at an urgent care clinic requires communication strategies tailored to the child’s developmental stage. By using this approach, trust is built, anxiety is reduced, and cooperation is ensured.
Communication should be simple and concrete for children between the ages of 3 and 6. Introducing the child to medical tools can also help alleviate their fears and encourage curiosity. For instance, you might say, “This stethoscope can listen to your heart like a superhero.” You might use a calm, friendly tone and maintain eye contact (American Academy of Pediatrics [AAP], 2017).
A child between the ages of 7 and 12 can understand more detailed explanations. Encourage them to ask questions as you explain each step of the procedure. By offering choices, such as choosing which arm to wear the blood pressure cuff, the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022) empowers people and promotes engagement. For instance, “I’m going to measure your blood pressure now; it feels like a tight hug on your arm.”
Humor and play can help distract from anxiety as engagement strategies. Praise reinforces positive behavior in children. Parental involvement can also provide reassurance and foster a supportive environment (AAP, 2017).
As long as healthcare providers adapt communication styles and engagement techniques to the child’s age and developmental stage, they can ensure effective assessments and build trust in their interactions with the child.
References
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2017). Bright Futures: Guidelines for health supervision of infants, children, and adolescents (4th ed.). Retrieved from https://publications.aap.org/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Developmental milestones. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/child-development/about/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts.html
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