Pediatric Nursing: Growth, Development, and Clinical Care

This flashcard set covers essential vocabulary and concepts from pediatric nursing, including developmental stages, physiological terminology, assessment scales, and clinical complications.

Development

A progressive increase in the function of the body.

Growth

An increase in physical size, measured in feet or meters and pounds or kilograms.

Maturation

The total way in which a person grows and develops, as dictated by inheritance.

Cephalocaudal development

Development that proceeds from head to toe, where an infant gains control of the head before being able to sit or walk.

Proximodistal development

Development that proceeds from midline to periphery, such as an infant grasping with hands before pinching with fingers.

Neonate

An infant from birth to $4$ weeks of age.

Infant

A child from $4$ weeks to $1$ year of age.

Toddler

A child from $1$ year to $3$ years of age.

Preschool child

A child from $3$ to $6$ years of age.

School-age child

A child from $6$ to $12$ years of age.

Adolescent

A person from $12$ to $18$ years of age.

Metabolic rate

The sum of energy use plus oxygen consumption, which is higher in children than in adults.

Passive immunity

Protection transmitted from the mother that lasts for the first $3$ months of life.

Body Mass Index (BMI) percentile formula

$$\frac{\text{Weight in pounds}}{\text{Height in inches}^2} \times 703$$

Sensorimotor stage

Piaget's stage from birth where responses are limited to reflexes and the child is concerned with sensations and actions that affect self directly.

Preoperational stage

Piaget's stage where the child is egocentric and believes everyone sees the world as they do.

Concrete operations

Piaget's stage where reasoning is logical but limited to the child's own experience and understands cause and effect.

Formal operations

Piaget's stage where the individual acquires the ability to develop abstract concepts and is oriented toward problem-solving.

Deciduous teeth

Also known as baby teeth, they serve in the digestive process and the development of the jaw; their early loss can lead to poor alignment of permanent teeth.

Phlebitis

An IV complication involving inflammation of the vein, marked by redness, tenderness, pain, and warmth.

Hematoma

An IV complication involving a collection or pooling of blood outside the blood vessel, marked by bruising.

Infiltration

An IV complication where fluid leaks into surrounding tissue, causing swelling, a burning sensation, and cool, blanched skin.

Hypervolemia

Fluid volume overload characterized by elevated blood pressure, edema, shortness of breath, crackles, and a bounding pulse.

Pulse Oximetry

A noninvasive measurement of the oxygen saturation ($SaO_2$) of arterial blood.

Hypoxemia

A condition that develops when there is an inadequate level of oxygen in the blood.

FLACC scale

A pain assessment tool used for newborns and nonverbal children.

FACES scale

A pain assessment tool used for pediatric patients who can communicate their level of discomfort.

Gavage feeding

Providing nutrition via a nasogastric (NG), orogastric (OG), or gastrostomy (G-tube) tube.

Therapeutic play

The use of play as an assessment tool or nursing intervention to help children master threatening situations and creative expression.