N109: Foundations in Nursing Practice

N109: Foundations in Nursing Practice Study Guide

Chapter One: Functional Assessment Learning Objectives 1. Discuss theories of growth and development and what impact they haveon functional abilities. 2. Discuss factors that influence functional abilities. 3. Discuss how the concepts of health promotion and disease prevention relate to functional ability. 4. Describe tools the nurse can use to assess functional ability. 5. Develop a plan of care related to functional ability using the nursing process. 1.1 Growth and Development Across the Lifespan When thinking about functional ability, the nurse must have a firm grasp on growth and development. Growth refers to an increase in size over time and can be measured. Development refers to ongoing changes with an increase in complexity of skill and function. Characteristics of growth and development include: • Predictability • Orderly • Sequential but unevenly paced • Occurring from head to foot (cephalocaudal) and center to outer (proximodistal) • Developing from simple to complex • Helped or hindered by learning • Each stage has specific characteristics Although age might help predict normal growth and development, individuals can be delayed or stopped at any stage due to physiological, psychosocial, cognitive, moral, or spiritual factors. Theories of Growth and Development The nurse must have a good understanding of normal developmental stages (physical, psychosocial, cognitive, moral, and spiritual) in order to know when an individual is at risk. Although the stages are typically associated with age ranges, the astute nurse will use these stages to identify the developmental stage of any patient regardless of age. For example, a patient may be 20 years old but, because of some disability, may only function at a school-age level. Nursing care and intervention must be aimed at the patient’s developmental stage, rather than age. Several theorists have contributed to growth and development literature and can provide guideposts for the nurse when evaluating functional abilities: • Robert Havighurst recognized certain developmental tasks that occur over the course of a person’s lifetime. • Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson did work in the area of psychosocial development. • Jean Piaget did definitive work in cognitive development.

©2017

Achieve Test Prep

Page 6

of 154