Gordon's Health Assessment & Erikson's Stages in Child Nursing
This paper examines the application of Gordon's Functional Health Assessment for Children alongside Erikson's Developmental Stages as frameworks for pediatric nursing practice. It identifies normal findings and potential problems a nurse might encounter when assessing toddlers, preschool-age children, and school-age children. The paper compares expected assessment findings across these age groups, discusses age-appropriate communication strategies, and considers how physical assessments and patient education differ between children and adults. Cultural and spiritual factors are also acknowledged as influences on functional health patterns.
- Introduction: Purpose and scope of the paper
- Gordon's Functional Health Patterns: Eleven patterns with normal and abnormal findings
- Erikson's Developmental Stages: Four childhood stages relevant to nursing assessment
- Communication with Children: Age-appropriate strategies for nurse-child communication
- Conclusion: Synthesis of both frameworks for pediatric nursing
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Systematically works through all eleven of Gordon's functional health patterns, providing both normal and abnormal (negative) findings for each, giving the reader a practical clinical reference.
- Pairs a theoretical developmental framework (Erikson) with a clinical assessment framework (Gordon), showing how the two inform each other in pediatric practice.
- Includes a brief but focused section on age-appropriate communication, acknowledging a practical challenge nurses face that is distinct from adult care.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates compare-and-contrast organization by aligning Erikson's age-banded stages with Gordon's pattern-based assessment tool. Each pattern is introduced with a defining focus, followed by concrete examples of positive and negative findings, which models the clinical reasoning process nurses use during assessment.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief orientation paragraph, then dedicates the largest section to Gordon's eleven health patterns, presented in numbered sequence. A second major section covers Erikson's four childhood stages, also in numbered sequence. A shorter third section addresses nurse–child communication. The paper closes with a brief synthesis conclusion and a bibliography of three sources.
Introduction
This paper applies Gordon's Functional Health Assessment for Children alongside Erikson's Developmental Stages to identify normal findings and potential problems a nurse would discover when assessing children across three age groups: toddlers, preschool-age children, and school-age children. It compares and contrasts expected assessment findings across these childhood age groups and summarizes how a nurse would handle physical assessments, examinations, education, and communication differently with children versus adults. Cultural and spiritual differences are also considered.
References
Erikson's Developmental Stages and Gordon's Functional Health Patterns. (2012). Kirkwood Edu. Retrieved from
Gordon's Typology of 11 Functional Health Patterns for Assessment. (2012). Nurses Guide. Retrieved from http://thenurseguide.blogspot.com/2011/06/gordons-typology-of-11-fuctional-health.html
Ricci, S. S., & Kyle, T. (2008). Maternity and Pediatric Nursing. Wolters Kluwer Health.
Create your account
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.