Jun 4, 2018
category: Medicine

The treatment of a pediatric patient always has a linkage to the patient’s family. Nurses pay much attention to the patients’ families when treating pediatric patients. This is normally a continuous process in young patients. However, the provider-patient-family association becomes complex as the patient grows into adolescent years (National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, 2008). This often creates questions of provider-patient confidentiality. It is essential for advanced practice nurses to handle school-age children, adolescents and their families in a confidential manner in order to maintain an appropriate healthcare relationship. This paper considers the case study of a father of a 10-year-old boy who needs assistance through an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The boy has been diagnosed with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The father wants to contact the school and enhance the development of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) (Hartley, 2007).

It is essential for the parent of the boy to make an appropriate decision. An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is a documented care plan that structures a child’s educational needs, current level of education performance, disabilities and annual objectives (Burns et al., 2013).

It is fundamental to inform the boy of the plan and understand his opinion about the issue. The care provider is an advocate for the parent and child with the identified deficits of ADHD; he helps to ensure that the school maintains adequate evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of this child (Burns et al., 2013). The ethical concept of beneficence comprises of active promotion of good and prevention of harm in the event of assisting a parent with the IEP. It is not legal for the advanced practice nurse to help the family to enroll the child in the IEP. It is appropriate to provide quality education to children with development disorders according to the American Public Law 94-142 (Burns et al., 2013). The child should go through an Intellectual assessment test. A referral may be done in the event that the school may lack such test (Burns et al., 2013).

The advanced practice nurse should clarify to the parent that they can request the state to evaluate their child for the “Child Find” in order to discover any disabilities (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). The school can also request for an assessment through the permission of the parent. A team must meet to document the IEP for the child when the child receives qualification for the plan.

The provider can make the verdict of ADHD. However, this may entail working with the school and other places the child will visit. The provider can use Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to invent the criteria for examining a child with ADHD (Burns et al., 2013). Behavioral rating scales are also useful in defining the diagnosis and displaying changes once treatment begins (Burns et al., 2013). The provider can prescribe medication for the child’s Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

One provider should prescribe medication for the patient when the child has a referral to a psychiatrist. There should be an evaluation of the boy with similar behavioral rating scales to assess the treatment option. The provider’s duty is to do what is best for the child and his family.

In conclusion, it is essential to consider diverse factors when treating pediatric patients. This helps to deliver effective health care and accept decisions for them. It is also important to consider such factors to increase the quality of pediatric care. An advanced practice nurse should consider various contexts and use different communication strategies when providing pediatrics with healthcare.

References

Aynsley-Green, A. (2001). The NHS children’s taskforce and national service frameworks. Paediatric Nursing, 13: 4, 10.
Burns, C., Brady, M., Starr, N., Dunn, A., & Blosser, C. (2013). Primary pediatric healthcare (5th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier.
Ellis, J.M. (2000). Benchmarking clinical practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing 32: 1, 215-225
Hartley, R. E. (2007). Nursing in today’s world: Trends, issues, & management. London: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Http://www2.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. (2008). NAPNAP position statement on age parameters for pediatric nurse practitioner practice. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 22(3), e1–e2. Retrieved from http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0891-5245/PIIS0891524508000552.pdf

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