s
Title
Code
Level
Credit rating
Pre-requisites
Child - Physical Assessment
NH3141
6
20
 Admission criteria for the BSc (Hons) Acute Clinical Practice;
the BSc (Hons) Professional Practice, and the BSc (Hons)
Nurse Practitioner apply
Type of module
Aims
Extensive over two semesters
This module aims to:
 Enable health practitioners to appraise critical knowledge and
clinical skills of holistic health assessment of presenting infants,
children and young people; including history taking, child
development, and clinical examination.
 Develop the health practitioner’s ability to integrate the
assessment findings and contribute to clinical decision making.
On completion of the module the student will be able to:
 Select and formulate an holistic child health history, which
incorporates child development, psychosocial and family
dimensions
 Clinically examine children and young people integrating a
structured physical assessment with appropriate techniques and
tools
 Safeguard children and young people through
a) Integrating safe practice with promoting equality, diversity and
dignity
b) Management of risks
c) Appraised assessment of indicative signs of abuse
 Differentiate commonly occurring altered pathologies
 Critically analyse and interpret findings
 Plan and 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
 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:
Respiratory
Cardiovascular
Nervous system
Gastrointestinal
Musculoskeletal
Integumentary
Ears, Nose, Throat & Eyes
Mental Health
The Newborn/Infant
Critical holistic assessment of indicative signs of abuse in childhood
Learning
outcomes/objectives
Content
Teaching and learning
Teaching will be provided by provided by Faculty staff and invited multi-
strategies
Learning support
disciplinary clinical staff.
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 required to identify mentors in practice who are willing
to support learning and assessment in practice.
Module hours: 200
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
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
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
Assessment tasks
The changing range of websites will be provided within the module
handbook and on studentcentral
The student will undertake two assessment tasks: clinical practice
(50%) and theory (50%). Both assessment tasks must achieve a
minimum of 40% in order to pass the module.
Clinical Practice 50%
1. A portfolio of practice evidence demonstrating development
of safe practice and clear clinical reasoning in the interpretation
of assessment for clinical decision making. To include:
a. 2 education assessment sheets signed by mentors, for each of
the 9 skills:
The newborn/infant; respiratory; cardiovascular; neurological;
gastrointestinal; musculoskeletal; integumentary; ears, nose,
throat and eyes; mental health.
b. 2 accounts of a systematic focussed health history, signed by
mentors, demonstrating developmental range ie 2 out of the 3
developmental ages: newborn/infant <1 year old; child (1-12
years) or young person (12-17years).
Brief description of module
content and/or aims
Theory 50%
2. Objective Structured Learning Examination
The student will be assessed in three of the following:
Respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological and or gastrointestinal
systems; examination of the newborn/infant, and/or assessment of
indicators of abuse. Students will be assessed on integration of the
skill and evidence based knowledge underpinning each skill.
This module has been developed to support national policy change
within health care, and aims to:
1. Enable health practitioners to acquire critical knowledge and clinical
skills of holistic health assessment of presenting infants, children and
young people; including history taking, child development, and clinical
Area examination board to
which module relates
Module team/authors/
coordinator
examination.
2. Develop the health practitioners’ ability to use the assessment
findings and contribute to clinical decision making.
Undergraduate continuing professional education, School of Nursing
and Midwifery
Trudy Ward
Alan Monaghan, Eddie Whooler, Jason Gray, Tracie Kendrew, Lois
Peters, Jill Durrant Susanne Simmons, Heather Baid, Christine
Crawford, Annie Chellel, Dr Kamel Patel.
Semester offered, where
appropriate
Date of first approval
Date of last revision
Date of approval of this
version
Version number
Replacement for previous
module
Field for which module is
acceptable and status
Course(s) for which module
is acceptable and status in
course
Semester One: Falmer, Brighton
School home
External examiner
Knowledge and Skills
Framework
School of Nursing and Midwifery
Doris Corkin (01.09.08.-31.08.12.)
Core Dimensions:
 Communication: L3
 Develop own knowledge and skills: L3
 Health, safety and security: L3
 Service Improvement: L2
 Quality: L3
 Equality and diversity: L3
Health & Wellbeing (HWB) 2 Assessment & Care Planning: L3
HWB 3 Protection: L3
HWB 5 Provision of care: L4
HWB 6 Assessment & treatment planning: L3
HWB 7 Interventions & treatment: L3
June 2008
1
Continuing Professional Education: optional/mandatory
BSc (Hons) Nurse Practitioner - mandatory/mandatory
BSc (Hons) Acute Clinical Practice - optional/mandatory
BSc (Hons) Professional Practice - optional/mandatory
BSc (Hons) Professional Clinical Practice - optional/mandatory
BSc (Hons) Community Specialist Practice - optional/mandatory