Advanced Pediatric Assessment, 2nd Edition

Pediatric health care experts agree that the health care needs of children are vastly different from those of adults. Thus, it is critical for the pediatric health care provider to possess specialized knowledge and skills to accurately assess children during health and illness. This book emphasizes the uniqueness of children when conducting a health assessment and to show that, depending on the child’s age and developmental stage, the approach to obtaining the history and physical assessment can vary dramatically. It is divided into four units. Unit I provides a general overview of the anatomic and physiologic differences among infants, children, and adolescents, highlights the principles of growth and development and presents a discussion on communication with children, family assessment, and cultural assessment of children and families. The second unit deals with pediatric history, safety of child’s environment, and the specifics of physical examination and well-child examination. Nutritional status and neonate assessment are also explained here. Eleven chapters in this unit focus on physical assessment by body system. Unit III surveys mental disorders in children, including screening for addiction, depression, and suicidal ideation and addresses various types of child abuse and neglect, and peer victimization. The sole chapter in the fourth unit is devoted to integrating the knowledge gained from all previous chapters in the text, and using this knowledge in an organized manner to conduct a full, age-appropriate, head-to-toe pediatric health examination.