NRNP – 6665: Child and Adolescent Assessment
NRNP – 6665: Child and Adolescent Assessment
All diagnoses, from infancy to adulthood, begin with an examination. While an organic basis for most medical disorders can be determined through the use of diagnostic testing, the field of psychiatry is different in that patients cannot be sent to the lab for blood tests to determine the degree of depression. Similarly, patients cannot be sent to the radiology department for a “scan” to determine the severity of their bipolar disorder. Instead, the field of psychiatry must use psychiatric assessments, such as the comprehensive integrated physical exam, diagnostic interviews, and questionnaires to make diagnoses. These tools must be specialized to address the needs of children and adolescents. NRNP – 6665: Child and Adolescent Assessment
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Diagnostic assessment of the child and adolescent is a specialized area of expertise. The PMHNP will often see children who have already been seen by a primary care provider. Many PCPs are comfortable handling attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other straightforward childhood disorders. That means that the PMHNP will often treat the more complicated patients. This week, you explore psychiatric assessment techniques and tools for children and adolescents. You also examine the role of the parent/guardian in the assessment process for this patient population.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Evaluate comprehensive integrated psychiatric assessment techniques for children and adolescents
- Recommend assessment questions for child and adolescent patients
- Explain the importance of thorough psychiatric assessment for children and adolescents
- Identify rating scales that are appropriate for child/adolescent psychiatric assessment
- Identify psychiatric treatments appropriate for children and adolescents
- Explain the role of the parent/guardian in child/adolescent psychiatric assessment
Learning Resources
Required Readings (click to expand/reduce)
Required Media (click to expand/reduce)
Recommended Reading (click to expand/reduce)
Optional Discussion Forum: PMHNP Study Support Lounge
The PMHNP Study Support Lounge is offered throughout the course as a place of academic refuge where you can ask questions, offer insights, and interact with your peers. Your Instructor may also weigh in to provide global feedback to the group based on trends, common problems, and common strengths in student posts.
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You are encouraged to provide constructive, helpful feedback to your peers. Advanced practice nurses always benefit from the feedback of others. Your Study Support Lounge posts may be procedural (“How do I attach a Kaltura video to a Discussion post?”), conceptual (“How does this relate to the other therapy approaches we have studied?”), or analytical (“What do these diagnostic results actually mean in the context of this specific patient case?”). Although not mandatory, this is an opportunity to interact and study together as you navigate the assignments, so you are highly encouraged to take part in this activity. Full participation in activities like this is a statistically significant predictor of success.
To Participate in this Optional Discussion:
PMHNP Study Support Lounge
Acknowledgment
Practicum Manual Acknowledgment
The Practicum Manual describes the structure and timing of the classroom-based and practicum experiences and the policies students must follow to be successful in the nurse practitioner (NP) specialties. NRNP – 6665: Child and Adolescent Assessment
Click here and follow the instructions to confirm you have downloaded and read the entire MSN Nurse Practitioner Practicum Manual and will abide by the requirements described in order to successfully complete this program.
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Discussion: Comprehensive Integrated Psychiatric Assessment
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Many assessment principles are the same for children and adults; however, unlike with adults/older adults, where consent for participation in the assessment comes from the actual client, with children it is the parents or guardians who must make the decision for treatment. Issues of confidentiality, privacy, and consent must be addressed. When working with children, it is not only important to be able to connect with the pediatric patient, but also to be able to collaborate effectively with the caregivers, other family members, teachers, and school counselors/psychologists, all of whom will be able to provide important context and details to aid in your assessment and treatment plans.
Some children/adolescents may be more difficult to assess than adults, as they can be less psychologically minded. That is, they have less insights into themselves and their motivations than adults (although this is not universally true). The PMHNP must also take into consideration the child’s culture and environmental context. Additionally, with children/adolescents, there are lower rates of neurocognitive disorders superimposed on other clinical conditions, such as depression or anxiety, which create additional diagnostic challenges.
In this Discussion, you review and critique the techniques and methods of a mental health professional as the practitioner completes a comprehensive, integrated psychiatric assessment of an adolescent. You also identify rating scales and treatment options that are specifically appropriate for children/adolescents.
To Prepare
- Review the Learning Resources and consider the insights they provide on comprehensive, integrated psychiatric assessment. Watch the Mental Status Examination B-6 and Simulation Scenario-Adolescent Risk Assessment videos.
- Watch the YMH Boston Vignette 5 video and take notes; you will use this video as the basis for your Discussion post.
By Day 3 of Week 1
Based on the YMH Boston Vignette 5 video, post answers to the following questions:
- What did the practitioner do well? In what areas can the practitioner improve?
- At this point in the clinical interview, do you have any compelling concerns? If so, what are they?
- What would be your next question, and why?
Then, address the following. Your answers to these prompts do not have to be tailored to the patient in the YMH Boston video.
- Explain why a thorough psychiatric assessment of a child/adolescent is important.
- Describe two different symptom rating scales that would be appropriate to use during the psychiatric assessment of a child/adolescent. NRNP – 6665: Child and Adolescent Assessment
- Describe two psychiatric treatment options for children and adolescents that may not be used when treating adults.
- Explain the role parents/guardians play in assessment.
Support your response with at least three peer-reviewed, evidence-based sources and explain why each of your supporting sources is considered scholarly. Attach the PDFs of your sources.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
By Day 6 of Week 1
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on 2 different days by offering additional insights or alternative perspectives on their analysis of the video, other rating scales that may be used with children, or other treatment options for children not yet mentioned. Be specific and provide a rationale with evidence.
Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link, and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts, and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Submit!
Submission and Grading Information
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 1 Discussion Rubric
Post by Day 3 of Week 1 and Respond by Day 6 of Week 1
NRNP – 6665: Child and Adolescent Assessment
