NRNP-6541 Week 1: Discussion GETTING STARTED WITH PEDIATRICS

NRNP-6541 Week 1: Discussion GETTING STARTED WITH PEDIATRICS

NRNP-6541 Week 1: Discussion GETTING STARTED WITH PEDIATRICS
BY DAY 3 OF WEEK 1

Post a brief introduction of yourself that includes an explanation of your strengths and challenges as they apply to pediatrics and the role of a Family Nurse Practitioner. Also explain your career goals and objectives, and how your work in this course can help to accomplish those goals and objectives as a Family Nurse Practitioner. Use your research to support your explanations by providing credible and scholarly sources.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

 
NRNP-6541 Week 1: Discussion GETTING STARTED WITH PEDIATRICS Sample 1
NRNP 6541: Primary Care of Adolescence & Children
Week 1: Discussion
I am xx RN, withxx years of experience in critical care, emergency care, psychiatry, surgery, hospital and home health case management, long-term care, and infection control. I have zero experience in a clinic of any kind. The previous practicum experience in the clinic was very enjoyable for me. I loved the pace and all the knowledge I gained during those ten weeks.
Summary of Expectations
Providing care to pediatric patients involves not just assessing and treating the patient, but also the entire family. Advance practice nurses often face challenges in dealing with this because of the dynamics of different types of family units (traditional parents, single parents, same-sex parents, divorced parents, stepparents, adoptive families, foster families, military families, grandparents caring for their children). One-parent or foster families might not be able to adopt care strategies that might work for two-parent families. Additionally, family units come from different cultures, backgrounds, and religions. These factors can impact the care of patients and their families, so it is imperative that I tailor my assessment and care plans to meet their individual needs (Levetown, 2018).
I am both excited and anxious about the start of this course. However, I am unfamiliar with pediatric care. This course will enhance my knowledge of providing safe, effective care for pediatric and adolescent patients. Additionally, I hope to gain experience and confidence in caring for pediatric patients with various diagnoses and treatment regimens. Despite my limited pediatric and assessment and decision-making experience, I am fully committed to improving those skills. I expect to gain an abundance of information and skills during this course. I have high expectations that this class will help me master the competencies of a family nurse practitioner.
Explanation Of Strengths
 The ability to assess patients well is one of my strengths. Another strength I possess is my ability to collaborate with other healthcare team members. My extensive experience in hospital case management enhances those abilities. The healthcare team must work together as a unit. Adapting to the ever-changing world of healthcare is another of my strengths. Performing physical assessments and venipunctures for blood draws are my hands-on solid strengths.
Explanation of Weaknesses
Despite being inexperienced in pediatric care, I am not starting from ground zero. I have cared for all ages while working in the ER but that is limited. I have considerable experience assessing patients and obtaining pertinent information. I need to strengthen my critical thinking skills. Effective communication between the provider and the patient’s family will improve care quality and patient outcomes. Additionally, this will reduce patients and their families’ anxiety while enhancing adherence to medication and treatment regimens. A hands-on skill that gives me pause is suturing. I have no practice with suturing other than assisting a physician in an emergency room setting years ago. Another weakness may be starting intravenous lines, especially on little ones, which differ from lab draws. In this class, I can focus more on improving my knowledge, clinical abilities, and relationships with families. For a relationship to be valuable and appropriate, it is critical to match the patient’s demeanor and preferred closeness, which comes easily to me (Lang, 2012).
Career Goals & Objectives
My objectives and goals for this course are to improve my skills and knowledge in assessing health disorders, growth and development, and psychosocial issues related to pediatric patients. As part of this course, I will examine strategies for managing health disorders and growth and development issues in pediatric patients and evaluate differential diagnoses for pediatric patients. Among other things, I intend to evaluate culture’s impact on treating and managing disorders, growth, and development issues in pediatric patients and their families. Finally, I would like to gain an understanding of and apply critical terms, principles, and concepts related to primary care for pediatric patients (Walden, 2023).
GET I-HUMAN OR CLASSWORK HELP HERE
Conclusion
Family Nurse Practitioners wear many hats, such as assessment, comprehensive assessment, identification of risk factors, diagnosis, care plans, etc. Nurse practitioners are patient advocates, focusing on patient-centered, holistic care (Standards of Practice, 2022). To empower my patients, their families and the community to make better life and healthcare choices, I intend to become an advanced care provider in my own hometown.
References:
Academics: Nurs courses: NURS 6541 – Primary Care of adolescents and children. NURS 6541 –             Primary Care of Adolescents and Children – NURS Courses – Academics at Walden          University. (n.d.). https://academics.waldenu.edu/catalog/courses/nurs/6541
Lang E. V. (2012). (n.d.). A better patient experience through better communication. Journal of    radiology nursing. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23471099/Links to an external site.
Levetown, M. (2018, May 1). Communicating with children and families: From everyday            interactions to skill in conveying distressing information. American Academy of           Pediatrics.             https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/121/5/e1441/73487/Communicating-With-Links to an external site.    Children-and-Families-From?autologincheck=redirected
Standards of practice for Nurse Practitioners. American Association of Nurse Practitioners.        (2023.). https://www.aanp.org/advocacy/advocacy-resource/position-Links to an external site.           statements/standards-of-practice-for-nurse-practitioners
 
 
NRNP-6541 Week 1: Discussion GETTING STARTED WITH PEDIATRICS Sample 2 with responses

 My name is xxx I am a xx nurse in xx. I obtained my first Master’s degree in nursing executive, worked in the field for a while, and then went back to bedside nursing before deciding to embark on a dual master’s in FNP and mental health. I have been a nurse for six years, and in all my years of nursing, I have never worked with pediatric patients, which in itself is increasing my anxiety level. Most of my background was in med surg oncology, hematology, and IMC. As the oldest child with a 16-year age gap with my siblings, taking care of them from a tender age to now teenagers has in some way shaped me and prepared me a little bit for this population of patients. One of my strengths will be relating to my patients and knowing how to communicate with them to get the necessary information to help with my assessments, depending on the patient’s age. The challenge I will encounter with this population is some patients being unable to verbalize their concerns and overbearing parents who might sometimes make caring for children difficult. Another challenging aspect of working as a pediatric NP is working with families that have a lot of social needs, whether that be due to poverty, a lack of education, or not receiving mental health intervention. It can be challenging to provide equal care when the family has access to fewer resources ( nursejournal.org, 2022). The role of a nurse practitioner in the pediatric setting is to perform healthcare maintenance, diagnose and treat common illnesses, advise parents, provide nutrition, behavioral counseling, etc ( napnap.org, 2023). This course will allow me to incite a better understanding of the pediatric population, which will bring it together as an FNP. My goal is to see adolescents and the older population in addition to mental health, and I plan on running my practice after a couple of years of practice. This class will help me understand the pediatric population and prepare me to assess and treat complex cases. The beauty of PNP and FNP is that the provider will have the opportunity to have continuity of care if a child decides to stay with the provider, which will help build a better relationship with the patient.
 
                                                                                                                References
About pediatric nurse practitioners. NAPNAP. (2023).
About Pediatric Nurse Practitioners

What to know about working as a pediatric nurse. NurseJournal. (2022).
     https://nursejournal.org/articles/what-to-know-about-working-as-a-pediatric-nurse/#:~:texLinks to an external site.
t=Challenges%20of%20Pediatric%20Nursing&text=%22One%20challenging%20aspect
%20of%20working,not%20receiving%20mental%20health%20intervention.
 

 
Hello xx
Thank you for your post and your commitment to improving mental health. I applaud your desire to open your own practice after two years.  
You identify managing social needs as one of your challenges. Social needs such as poverty, lack of education, and mental health needs. The social determinants of health are vital, as you know. There are screening tools to help identify those with needs (Gray et al., 2023). The research by Bittner et al. (2021) found that even when the patient’s families were screened, they were reluctant to accept help. They encourage more research about the barriers. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia responded to this discrepancy by establishing Family Connects, which is a service that did not use a screening tool, but rather, assistance was offered to every family as they entered the pediatric emergency room ( VonHoltz et al., 2023). The patients and families received a phone call from a Family Connects member while they were in the emergency room. There were more referrals initiated with the Family Connects program (VonHoltz et al., 2023). The Family Connects is further refining the program to include texting (VonHoltz et al., 2023). Many professionals and community members are working to improve these issues and share your concerns about the inequities and social determinants of health. 
 
 
Bittner, J. C., Thomas, N., Correa, E. T., Hatoun, J., Donahue, S., & Vernacchio, L. (2021). A broad-based approach to social needs screening in a pediatric primary care network. Academic Pediatrics, 21(4), 694–701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2020.08.021
Gray, T. W., Podewils, L. J., Rasulo, R. M., Weiss, R. P., & Tomcho, M. M. (2023). Examining the implementation of health-related social need (HRSN) screenings at a pediatric community health center. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319231171519Links to an external site. 
VonHoltz, L. A., Murray, A. L., & Cullen, D. L. (2023). Family Connects: A novel social needs program within a pediatric emergency department. Academic Pediatrics, 23(1), 216–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2022.03.002
 

Response #1
Hi XX, great post. Just like you, I have no experience working with pediatric patients. I also agree that a challenge in this population would be that some of the patients cannot verbalize any concerns about sickness and feeling. Providers must communicate with the parents or caregivers, which can sometimes be very difficult when the parents are non-compliant with care or have different beliefs, language barriers, and or cultural beliefs (Al Shamsi et al., 2020).
Dealing with difficult parents requires a balance to ensure the best possible care for the child while maintaining a respectful and collaborative relationship with the parents.
One common characteristic of difficult parents in Pediatrics is their demanding behavior (Kim & White, 2018). I used to be one of those overprotective/overbearing parents, so having understanding and compassion is important, but it is essential to establish clear boundaries and set realistic expectations. I suggest communication, compassion, patience, trust, and understanding of other cultures to deal with overbearing parents (Hill et al., 2018).
References
Al Shamsi, H., Almutairi, A. G., Al Mashrafi, S., & Al Kalbani, T. (2020). Implications of language barriers for healthcare: a systematic review. Oman medical journal, 35(2), e122.
Hill, C., Knafl, K. A., & Santacroce, S. J. (2018). Family-centered care from the perspective of parents of children cared for in a pediatric intensive care unit: an integrative review. Journal of pediatric nursing, 41, 22-33.
Kim, B., & White, K. (2018). How can health professionals enhance interpersonal communication with adolescents and young adults to improve health care outcomes?: systematic literature review. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 23(2), 198–218.
 

Hello xx
First off, you are a dedicated student achieving not only a master’s in nursing executive leadership but also going for an advanced practice degree in TWO areas! It must be so challenging learning not only one area of advanced practice nursing but both full family practice and mental health, incredible.
The hesitancy you have toward pediatric nursing is totally normal for someone who has an expansive history with the adult population. I come the opposite background, I am incredibly comfortable with pediatrics, family centered care and this population in general due to my background in peds. I now work with new graduate nurses in clinical education but something I like to tell them to encourage them when having to care for younger patients is they are just smaller bodies with, typically, less chronic issues (Samuels et al, 2017). In most cases, easier to navigate because there is less to consider like heart disease, blood pressure fluctuations, diabetes, COPD and all the other adult diagnoses! Plus kids will always be cuter than adults, despite their anxious parents.
The value you can bring to the population with the background in mental health will be insurmountable. The pediatric population is underserved in mental health due to the lack of experience and confidence at graduation from the family nurse practitioners (Mckague et al, 2021). On average, 30% of FNP students only experience around one to two mental health evaluations during their rotations. Also, unfortunately but naturally, this population struggles with health literacy in regards to mental health, but value privacy and non-judgemental environments (Quinlan-Davidson et al, 2021). Your experience with being in the mental health program too will likely bring value to your preceptor as well- aiding in these hard and tricky situations with patients. I am eager to hear how your session ends, good luck navigating through both programs in the coming weeks.
 
Resources
McKague, Dustin.,  Beebe, Sarah. Mcnelis, Angela. Dreifuest, Kristina Thomas. (2021). Lack of pediatric mental health clinical experiences among FNP students. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, Volume 35, Issue 3, Pages 267-270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2021.03.008Links to an external site..
Quinlan-Davidson, M., Roberts, K. J., Devakumar, D., Sawyer, S. M., Cortez, R., & Kiss, L. (2021). Evaluating quality in adolescent mental health services: a systematic review. BMJ open, 11(5), e044929. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044929
Samuels, C., Harris, T., Gonzales, T., & Mosquera, R. A. (2017). The Case for the Use of Nurse Practitioners in the Care of Children with Medical Complexity. Children, 4(4), 24. https://doi.org/10.3390/children4040024

Peer Response 2
Hi xx
Thanks for your post. As you stated, communication and building rapport are essential in delivering care, as one must communicate and interact in ways that are easy to understand for the patient and their family. Since communication can be verbal and nonverbal, a provider should be attention-detailed and able to decipher both verbal and non-verbal cues. In addition to that, patience is crucial when dealing with kids because kids can be unpredictable, and working with them can be challenging. Practitioners might need resources to aid communication since they provide care for patients from various cultural backgrounds, such as using interpreters to communicate effectively (Navein et al., 2022).
Also, being culturally competent might help improve one’s perception of demanding or overbearing parents and caregivers. Cultural beliefs about causation, symptoms, and treatment influence the patient’s narrative and dictate family roles, social support, and community involvement (Okoniewski et al., 2022). Cultural differences also impact communication styles, trust, and rapport, affecting clinician-patient relationships.
It is also essential to know about child development and the various stages of growth and development and become familiar with common childhood illnesses and injuries and the latest treatments and interventions. Zubler et al. (2022) recommend developmental surveillance and screening to identify children with developmental delays or disabilities early, help ensure timely interventions, and improve outcomes. The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control has developed several resources, such as a Milestone Tracker app and videos in multiple languages, that providers and caregivers can use to provide relevant and appropriate care.
 
References
Navein, A., McTaggart, J., Hodgson, X., Shaw, J., Hargreaves, D., Gonzalez-Viana, E., & Mehmeti, A. (2022). Effective healthcare communication with children and young people: A systematic review of barriers and facilitators. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 107(12), 1111–1116. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2022-324132
Okoniewski, W., Sundaram, M., Chaves-Gnecco, D., McAnany, K., Cowden, J. D., & Ragavan, M. (2022). Culturally sensitive interventions in pediatric primary care settings: A systematic review. American Academy of Pediatrics, 149(2). https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/149/2/e2021052162/184573/Culturally-Sensitive-Interventions-in-Pediatric?autologincheck=redirected
Zubler, J. M., Wiggins, L. D., Macias, M. M., Whitaker, T. M., Shaw, J. S., Squires, J. K., Pajek, J. A., Wolf, R. B., Slaughter, K. S., Broughton, A. S., Gerndt, K. L., Mlodoch, B. J., & Lipkin, P. H. (2022). Evidence-informed milestones for developmental surveillance tools. Pediatrics, 149(3). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-052138 NRNP-6541 Week 1: Discussion GETTING STARTED WITH PEDIATRICS