Newborn Assessment
Course #32264 - $60 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Every infant presents uniquely and has certain individual needs. While the vast majority of infants transition without problems, some present with anatomic, physiologic, infectious, and developmental issues that must be addressed. The assessment of the newborn should begin with obtaining a health history and include the initial Apgar assessment, the transitional assessment during the periods of reactivity, the assessment of gestational age, and the systemic physical examination. This systematic approach ensures a thorough exam. Nurses in many different areas of nursing conduct newborn assessments. The information provided includes warning signs, which require immediate attention, as well as basic normal assessment findings in the newborn. Due to the large volume of information, this course will cover only the first 24 hours of life.
- INTRODUCTION
- PRENATAL HISTORY
- PLACENTAL EXAMINATION
- IMMEDIATE POST-BIRTH CARE
- APGAR SCORE
- NEWBORN SCREENING
- PERIODS OF REACTIVITY
- ASSESSMENT OF ATTACHMENT
- GENERAL APPEARANCE ASSESSMENT
- GENERAL MEASUREMENTS
- GESTATIONAL AGE ASSESSMENT
- SKIN ASSESSMENT
- HEAD ASSESSMENT
- EYE ASSESSMENT
- EAR ASSESSMENT
- NOSE ASSESSMENT
- MOUTH ASSESSMENT
- NECK ASSESSMENT
- NEUROLOGIC EXAMINATION
- CHEST ASSESSMENT
- EVALUATING THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
- EVALUATING THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
- ABDOMEN ASSESSMENT
- GENITOURINARY SYSTEM ASSESSMENT
- EXTREMITIES, BACK, AND SPINE ASSESSMENT
- CONCLUSION
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This course is designed for all medical-surgical nurses and ancillary nursing personnel involved in the assessment of newborns.
The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of a newborn assessment for all nurses, especially those who either presently care for newborns or those who come in contact with them occasionally.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Outline important points of a prenatal history.
- Describe immediate post-birth care and examination of the placenta.
- Analyze guidelines and strategies for assigning Apgar scores and the implications of maintaining a thermoneutral environment for the newborn.
- Discuss the importance of general measurements and determination of gestational age.
- Identify important aspects of the newborn skin assessment.
- Review key components of the assessment of the newborn's head, face, and neck.
- Evaluate newborns' reflexes and other relevant neurologic findings.
- Outline the steps involved in the assessment of the newborn's chest and respiratory system, including identifying signs of respiratory distress.
- Appropriately evaluate the newborn's cardiovascular system, with attention to potential congenital heart defects.
- Describe key aspects of the newborn abdomen assessment.
- Identify warning signs and normal findings when assessing the newborn's genitourinary system.
- Discuss the inspection of the newborn's extremities, back, and spine.
Nicole F. Keehn, RN, MSN, PsyD, received a Master’s of Science, with emphasis on the pediatric critical care population, from Texas Woman’s University in 1993. She completed her doctorate in clinical and neuropsychology at Argosy University in Dallas, Texas. She was employed as the intensive care educator at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas, and as a clinical nurse in the intensive care unit at Children's Medical Center of Dallas, Texas. Mrs. Keehn is currently a clinical training director of an APPIC internship program and a pre- and post-doctoral psychology supervisor. She is also the managing partner of Lokahi Life Center, PLLC, in Dallas, Texas.
Katrina Lieben, MSN, CNM, received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Humboldt State University, California in 1997 and her Master's of Science in Nursing with a nurse midwifery focus from the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing in 2008. She has worked with mothers and infants her entire career. Ms. Lieben practiced in Ketchikan, Alaska, for more than 10 years, and currently practices midwifery care in Ukiah, California.
Contributing faculty, Nicole F. Keehn, RN, MSN, PsyD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Contributing faculty, Katrina Lieben, MSN, CNM, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Mary Franks, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.