Professional Portfolio Continuation NFDN 2005

Category: L - Pediatrics
Competency number,
letter and
subcategory

Subcategory: L-3-1 - Demonstrate knowledge and ability to assess

pediatric client for pain considering: age,
behaviors, cultural influence, location and
intensity, physiological and psychological
factors, previous medication and
effectiveness & subjective and objective data

A learning experience in NFDN 2005 that focuses on this competency

is attending class and being taught a unit that focused on the topic of
pain specifically. In the class for unit 2.5 I learned about pain scales
for the different developmental levels for pediatric clients, how to
assess pain on a pediatric client, when it is alright to administer
A learning experience narcotics and/or various pharmacologic treatments (such as
acetaminophen) and at what age a child can be on a PCA pump. We
in this course and
also learned how to chart pain for a pediatric client and how to
example related to
monitor the effects of analgesics. This relates to the competency
this competency
because this category focuses on all the points I mentioned above as
well as different cultural influences on how pain is handled and
expressed. The youngest to the oldest people in this world experience
pain. Infants and young children may not remember the painful
experience but the body does so it is important to monitor and manage
pain at any sign or symptom.

Description of what I
learned and how it
relates to this
competency. Why
was it meaningful?

I feel this learning experience was important because depending on

the age of the client pain may be very hard to asses. An example of
this is that babies pain is measured by their mood, facial expressions
and behavior (FLACC scale) however, these can all easily be affected
by daily activities, when they were last fed and so on so their nurse
has to be very keen on their usual activity and mood to not mistake it
for pain. In children pain complaints are usually generalized and they
often have referred pain (example pneumonia can cause abdominal
pain because viruses go through the gastrointestinal and respiratory
tracts) which can lead to misdiagnoses and thus they receive
ineffective treatments. Being aware of the expression of pain among
various life stages will make me more aware of children that are in
pain and what needs to be addressed and why to keep them as
comfortable as possible.

PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO CONTINUATION

Use the proficiency

categories to rate
my proficiency in this
competency.
Explanation of how I
achieved this number

How I will use this

knowledge and
experience will be
used in current and
future nursing
practices

I believe I would rate myself in the fair category because I

understand all these concepts and why they are part of the pain
assessment but I have never used them in a real care setting and
believe I would need a refresher and/or notes to make sure I complete
all the components of a pain assessment as well as different referred
pain symptoms and strategies to minimize pain in babies and young
children who may not talk and express their pain verbally (except for
possible crying).
In current nursing practices I will use this knowledge and learning
experiences to identify possible pain in various pediatric clients and to
assess their pain based on their developmental level and abilities. I
will give them all the care they need to minimize pain and maintain
comfort even if they may not have the ability to talk or point out their
amount of pain.
In future nursing practices I will adapt to any new changes that come
into the scope of LPNs for assessing and caring for pediatric clients
who are experiencing and/or expressing pain. I will also be familiar
with all the concepts of a pain assessment for the various
developmental levels of pediatric clients without missing any
components.