When caring for a preschooler, the nurse understands that this ...

[BrownTown3]

When caring for a preschooler, the nurse understands that this child tends to interpret language in a literal way and that the child will not ask for clarification, leading to a misunderstanding of messages.
 
  The nurse recognizes a preschooler is in which of Piaget's cognitive stages of development?
 
  a. Concrete operations
  b. Formal operations
  c. Preoperational
  d. Sensorimotor

Question 2

When communicating with a preschooler who is admitted to the hospital for a fractured arm, which is the best method for the nurse to describe the preschooler's impending surgery?
 
  a. Encourage the preschooler to put a bandage on a teddy bear's arm.
  b. Explain what surgery will be like, using abstract terminology.
  c. Explain to the preschooler how long the surgery will take and that it will be done by noon.
  d. Inform the preschooler that fixing the fractured arm will make it possible to play sports in the future.

[zoeyesther]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: C
Throughout the preoperational period, young children tend to interpret language in a literal way. For example, the child who is told that he will be put to sleep during the operation tomorrow may think it means the same as the action recently taken for a pet dog who was too ill to live. Children do not ask for clarification, so messages can be misunderstood quite easily. The concrete operations stage occurs from approximately 7 to 11 years of age. The formal operations stage starts at about age 12+ years. The sensorimotor stage is from birth to about 2 years of age.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: A
Preschoolers tend to think of their illness, their separation from parents, and any painful treatments as punishment. Play can be used to help children express their feelings about an illness and to role play coping strategies. Allowing the young child to manipulate syringes and give shots to a doll or put a bandage or restraint on a teddy bear's arm gives the child a chance to act out his feelings. The child becomes the aggressor. Play can be a major channel for communication in the nurse-client relationship involving a young child. Preschool children develop communication themes through their play and work through conflict situations in their own good time; the process cannot be rushed. When working with a school-age child, the nurse should search for concrete examples to which the child can relate rather than giving abstract examples. Abstract thinking occurs in the formal operations stage. Children who are 7-11 years of age are in Piaget's concrete operations stage, in which they master the use of numbers and other concrete ideas such as classification and conservation. Children who are 12+ years of age are in Piaget's formal operations stage, in which they tend to think about the future.

[BrownTown3]

Excellent

[ryhom]

TYSM