NURS 6541: Week 3: School-Age Children and Adolescents Essay Assignment Paper

If adolescents cannot trust that their health information will be both private and secure, they may not seek these services.

—American Academy of Pediatrics

This statement released by the American Academy of Pediatrics draws awareness to a topic of growing importance. According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, over 9% of school-age children and adolescents do not visit a health care provider regularly (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012). While this may be partially attributed to access to health care, concerns of privacy and trust also keep patients from obtaining necessary services. Patients are sometimes hesitant to share private information such as details of sexual activity or drug use with providers for fear that their parents will find out. In your role as the advanced practice nurse, you must be prepared to handle any provider-patient confidentiality issues that may arise with pediatric patients in clinical settings.

This week you explore the role of the provider regarding confidentiality between pediatric patients and their families. You also examine treatment and management strategies for school-age children and adolescents.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this week, students will:

• Analyze the role of the provider regarding confidentiality between pediatric patients and their families
• Understand and apply key terms, principles, and concepts related to growth and developmental issues for school-age children and adolescents
• Evaluate diagnoses for pediatric patients
• Evaluate treatment and management plans

Learning Resources

Required Readings

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

• Burns, C. E., Dunn, A. M., Brady, M. A., Starr, N. B., Blosser, C. G., & Garzon, D. L.  (Eds.). (2017). Pediatric primary care (6th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier.
• • Chapter 7, “Developmental Management of School-Age Children” (pp. 101-120)This chapter presents guidelines for the assessment of school-age children, including psychosexual, social and emotional, cognitive and problem-solving, and moral development. It also explores common developmental issues and red flags for school-age children.

• • Chapter 8, “Developmental Management of Adolescents” (pp. 121-140)This chapter explores adolescent development and anticipatory guidance during adolescence. It also examines common issues in adolescents related to physical and sexual, psychosocial, and cognitive development.

• • Chapter 10, “Nutrition” (pp. 158-197)This chapter describes nutrition-related health problems in pediatric patients. It also provides guidelines for diagnosing and managing different types of nutrition disorders.

• • Chapter 13, “Physical Activity and Sports for Children and Adolescents” (pp. 233-272)This chapter provides guidelines for promoting and supporting physical activity for children and adolescents. It also identifies high-risk conditions for sports participation and presents strategies for evaluating and managing sports participation for athletes with health conditions.

• • Review: Chapter 14, “Sleep and Rest” (pp. 273-284)This chapter provides strategies for the prevention and management of sleep problems in pediatric patients. It also identifies special considerations for children with chronic disorders.

• • Review: Chapter 17, “Role Relationships” (pp. 311-338)This chapter explores circumstances that create role-relationship problems in family units such as violence, neglect, maltreatment, and physical and sexual abuse. It also presents strategies for assessing and managing families presenting with these circumstances.

• Chapter 18, “Sexuality” (pp. 285-298)This chapter covers the assessment and management of normal sexual development. It also identifies red flags for abnormal sexual behavior among children and adolescents.

Hagan, J. F., Jr., Shaw, J. S., Duncan, P. M. (Eds.). (2017). Bright futures: Guidelines for health supervision of infants, children, and adolescents (4th ed.). Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics.

• • Review: “Promoting Healthy Nutrition” (pp. 167-192)This chapter examines the impact of environment and culture on patient behaviors related to food and nutrition. It also explores essential components of nutrition for children from preconception through adolescence.

• • Review: “Promoting Physical Activity” (pp. 193-203)This chapter describes physical activity as a growing problem. It also identifies strategies for promoting physical activity, including age-appropriate activities for infants, children, and adolescents.

• • “Promoting Healthy Sexual Development and Sexuality” (pp. 217-227)This chapter explores strategies for promoting healthy sexual development and sexuality among pediatric patients from infancy through adolescence. It also examines sexual behaviors among adolescents, including onset of intercourse, pregnancy rates, and sexually transmitted infections.

• • Review: “Promoting Safety and Injury Prevention” (pp. 235-256)This chapter explores two categories of issues relating to safety and injury prevention and examines strategies for promoting safety among infants, children, and adolescents.

• • “Middle Childhood Visits” (pp. 649-730)This chapter explores the care of children from ages 5 to 10 years. It identifies concerns related to their growth, health, behavior, school progress, and safety. It also presents common parental concerns and strategies for educating parents and children about health issues and puberty.

• “Adolescence Visits” (pp. 731-822)This chapter explores the care of adolescents ranging from 11 to 21 years. It focuses on their physical, cognitive, emotional, and social transitions relating to their family, friends, school, and jobs.

Seidel, H. M., Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2011). Mosby’s guide to physical examination (7th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

• Chapter 26, “Recording Information”Note: You should have this textbook in your personal library, as it was the required text in NURS 6511: Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning.

  This chapter outlines the components of SOAP notes and provides guidelines for writing SOAP notes after patient examinations.

Gagan, M. J. (2009). The SOAP format enhances communication. Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, 15(5), 15.

This article outlines the four parts of SOAP notes and examines the importance and effectiveness of SOAP notes in clinical settings.

Schapiro, N. A. (2009). Confidentiality and access to adolescent health care services. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 24(2), 133–136

This article explores the development of adolescent confidentiality policies in the United States. It also examines confidentiality issues related to adolescent health care, focusing on reproductive health, access to health services, and parental rights.

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011a). Body image and self-esteem in adolescence. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 18 minutes.

In this video program, Dr. John Sommers-Flanagan discusses the challenges teens face as they navigate the many physical changes associated with adolescence.