Registered Nurse Role in Early Childhood in Australia (Essay Sample)

Registered Nurse Role in Early Childhood in Australia Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course Code and Name Instructor’s Name Due Date Registered Nurse Role in Early Childhood in Australia Introduction Registered Nurses (RN) have the roles and responsibilities of caring for patients and providing specialist nursing care with their duties, including supervision of enrolled nurses and junior RNs. Lukewich et al. (2022) indicate that RNs provide specialized care for their clients and also perform leadership roles such as overseeing a nurse unit as a nurse unit manager (NUM). The context under analysis involves the role of RNs in early childhood with a focus on health assessment of the child in well-baby clinics. In reviewing this role, the following is an explanation for the context, analysis, and discussion of the role of RNs in early childhood health and a conclusion summarizing key points. Child Health Assessment The context in the media clip is primary health care provision focused on early childhood, focusing on child health assessment for infants and young children. As indicated by Wightman et al. (2022), RNs play a critical role in carrying out health assessments to analyze their growth and development by keeping track of the child's developmental milestones, preventing care by identifying issues of concern, and providing support to parents. The video illustrates a young mother coming for a first visit and checkup with an RN in a local community health center. The target group is parents coming to the well-baby clinic to have their infants checked for early monitoring and development assessment. Within the context of child health assessment, the RN is providing nursing care to an infant and its mother, emphasizing reviewing developmental milestones, monitoring the infant’s growth, and parental support. As indicated by Wiles et al. (2019), the health and development screening and assessment for infants and young children is critical as it checks whether the child is growing and developing as expected for their age. For instance, this can be seen in the video where the RN asks the mother whether the baby is feeding, sleeping, and meeting developmental milestones such as tummy time exercise. In addition to reviewing and assessing the health and development of the child, the RN also provides advice for the parents on how to promote their child's development, such as best practices in the exercises the parent can try at home. McCullough et al. (2023) recommend that RNs provide parents with interventions and information on health promotion activities. Therefore, the RNs not only assess the child but also provide advice to parents on how the development of their child can be enhanced. Child screening and assessment also includes a physical assessment checking for various elements, including weight and height. In the media clip, the RN checks the baby from head to toe, including their weight, health, head circumference, and skin. Arat et al. (2020) recommend regular checkups as they provide the parent with adequate support and guidance. The parents are an integral part of the child's health assessment. As seen in the video, the RN asks how the mother is doing, including their support subsystems at home from family and friends. Notably, the RN asked how the dad was doing to assess whether the mother received appropriate support at home. As indicated by Sweet et al. (2021), partners are the primary resources support to mothers by ensuring that the new mother does not have to worry about the home while also emotionally supporting them. For instance, discussing child rearing with their partners is a critical topic for new mothers. As mentioned by the mother in the video clip, family and friends are also an important support system for the new mother. Benefits and Challenges faced by RNs RNs play a critical role in child health assessments of infants and young children, resulting in several benefits and challenges. One of the main benefits of having RNs carry out child health assessments in infants is that it allows a change from the baby to a holistic approach of the entire family, where the psychosocial impacts are assessed on family functioning and well-being. As seen in the video clip, the RN focuses on physically checking the child and incorporates the mother, the father, other families, and friends. Lukewich et al. (2022) argue that RNs provide a holistic care delivery approach in child health assessment, resulting in improved health outcomes and well-being for the child and parents. RNs also help take a preventative childcare approach through regular checks on the baby. Turley (2018) states that the RN role in child health services allows RNs to identify potential health issues and provide the appropriate advance and referral to the patients. For instance, in the video clip, the RN asks about the redness on the baby's skin to determine whether it is a problem needing further medical attention. Therefore, through the role of RNs in carrying out health assessments, potential health conditions can be detected early, and necessary preventive or curative care can be employed. The RNs also help track and maintain records of the child's progress and development. For instance, throughout the video clip, the RN can take notes and put in the necessary information as she assesses the child. RNs can also face challenges in providing care in well-baby clinics. First, the RN may face the challenge of parents who have anxiety about the progress and development of their child. Adams et al. (2019) indicate that RNs should be able to effectively engage with parents and alleviate their fears. The RN may also be faced with parents unaware of the developmental milestones their children should be meeting. According to Clark et al. (2016), the RN must utilize simple and easy-to-understand language, including examples, to ensure effective communication with their clients. For instance, when the mom in the media clip is asked about development milestones, she asks for specifics, and providing examples enables her to answer the questions asked. Effective communication as such should be promoted in engaging with clients. Finally, the role of RNs in child health assessment in well-baby clinics is complex, requiring engagement with the parent rather than providing direction. Adams et al. (2019) recommend empowering parents to make decisions about their children by promoting a patient-centered care approach. In the media clip, the RN has tried to develop an engaging interaction with the mother and baby, focusing on their needs. Throughout the child health assessment, as required by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) (2010), the RN observes the necessary standards for RNs. For instance, the RN observes the fifth standard on provision and coordination of care by carrying out a systematic and comprehensive nursing assessment and using various assessment techniques in collecting data, such as observing the child, asking questions, and physical examination, among others. Further, the RN must collaborate with other professionals to provide efficient and optimal care for their clients. For instance, the client first engages with a healthcare practitioner who reviews her details before being handled by the RNs. Conclusion The focus of the analysis is the role of the RN in the context of child health assessment in wel...