Nurses' Physical Assessment of a Child and Adult

Health Assessment Essay
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The nurse identifies the vital clinical manifestations and the weight and height on the growth chart when conducting a physical assessment of a child. This includes recording the child’s head circumference on the growth chart to track their progress over time. The head circumstance is vital because it helps establish the child’s health and developmental milestones compared to their age bracket (Srinath et al., 2019). Physical examination in children entails recording (a) weight, height, and body mass index [BMI], (b) waist circumference, (c) head circumference, (d) blood pressure, respiratory rate, pulse rate, and temperature, (e) head-to-toe examination [ears, skin, nails, eyes, health, nose, and throat], and (f) systemic examination [respiratory, central nervous system, per abdomen, and cardiovascular] (Srinath et al., 2019). Physical assessment in an adult entails recording the vitals, including temperature, heart rhythm, blood pressure, and respiration rate. The nurse will also examine the general appearance of the patient. Other examination areas include the skin, eyes, neck, lungs, heart, neuro, abdomen, and extremities. Whereas physical assessment of a child provides head circumference assessment, this is not a vital sign in adults. Head circumference in adults’ physical assessment is ...