Nursing Portfolio: Demonstrate Knowledge of Pediatric Development

This professional portfolio demonstrates a nursing student's competency in understanding the stages of growth and development in pediatric clients, aligning with CLPNA competency L-1-2. The portfolio highlights a significant learning experience involving the study of child development theories, particularly Piaget's and Erikson's, and their application in nursing practice. The student assesses their proficiency, emphasizing the integration of theoretical and practical knowledge gained through coursework and self-reflection. The portfolio details how this competency enhances the ability to provide holistic care to children, considering their cognitive, physical, and psychosocial needs. Future learning needs are identified, focusing on further developing interpersonal skills to effectively interact with pediatric patients and their families. The document includes relevant references to support the claims and learning experiences.

Running head: PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO
PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author’s note

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PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO
Competency: Clearly
label the competency
letter, number, and
subcategory (write out
the competency).
Competency: L-1-2 Demonstrate knowledge of stages of growth and
development of pediatric client.
Significant learning
experience: Describe
ONE significant
learning experience in
this course related to the
CLPNA competency
you have identified.
Provide an example.
Human growth and development acquaint us with the concept of
development in psychology.
Through my educational career as a nurse I have gained knowledge
regarding the growth and development, which was further strengthened by
the reading of the text book, The Developing World of the Child (2006) By
Jane Aldgate; David Jones; Carole Jeffery; Wendy Rose Jessica Kingsley.
The book was referred by one of my peer to gain a comprehensive
knowledge regarding child growth and development. The content of the
teaching notes, the PowerPoint presentation shown in the class had been
helpful in integrating the theories of growth and development in child. The
knowledge gained from the book and the tutorials has been of immense use
to meet the needs o the child patients and their families.
What you learned:
Describe what you
learned and how it
relates to the
competency identified
According to Kail, (2015) human growth and development is a lifelong
process that involves physical, mental, behavioral and emotional change.
Growth and development are related to each other. Growth is a physical
change, indicative, a quantitative process. It is external in nature and
gradually cease at a certain age. Development on the other hand is a
cognitive process that is mainly continuous (Karkouti, 2014). It involves

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psychological change which is internal in nature and is not indicative.
Growth and development in a child occurs hand in hand and both have a
profound impact on each other (Malina, 2012).
There is a wide range of developmental theories. Among the notable ones is
the Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. According to Piaget the
different stages are Sensory motor stage for the infants, Preoperational stage
of the toddlers, concrete operational stage for the school kids and formal
operational stage for the teenagers (Karkouti, 2014). Another notable theory
is the Kohlberg's theory of moral development, which includes 3 levels. The
Erikson's theory of psychosocial development involves 'conflict' that should
be resolved for moving to the next stage (Kurtines, 2014).
 Infancy (trust vs. mistrust)
 Toddler (autonomy vs. shame or doubt)
 Preschooler (initiative vs. guilt)
 School-age (industry vs. inferiority)
 Adolescence (identity vs. role confusion)
A nurse has to take extra precautions while dealing with pediatric and they
have to be dealt with extra care. In order to administer a safe care to children,
it is necessary to develop a transparent idea regarding the stages of cognitive,
physical, emotional, psychological and moral development of child (Kail,
2015).
Proficiency rating: Use
the “Proficiency Rating
Categories” below to
rate your own
I would like to place myself in the ‘2’ position of the proficiency ratings, As
I have gained a plenty of understanding from books and online sources
regarding the different stages of growth and psychosocial development in
child. Self reflection, self assessment and critical thinking and analysis have

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proficiency in the
identified CLPNA
competency. What did
you do to achieve this
competency and provide
evidence to support
your rating?
helped me immensely in developing this proficiency. Both theoretical and
practical knowledge have enhanced my confidence and efficiency in nursing
care.
Significance of learning:
Explain how the
identified competency
enhanced your learning
(was meaningful) in this
course.
The competency has helped me in developing the skills to deal with children
and their parents. Children should be dealt in a non hostile way (Karkouti,
2014). Different aged children require different types of medicines as well a
psychosocial care, hence a competency of this level s required to provide a
holistic care.
Nursing Practice:
Describe how you will
apply this learning in
your current and future
nursing practice (What
are your strengths and
what are your future
learning needs
regarding this
competency)
Knowledge regarding childhood growth and development helps the nurses in
preparing the patient- specific therapeutic environment and treatment
regimen for a child. A clear concept had helped me in chalking out nursing
plans specific to developmental milestone, physical and mental growth,
nutritional and safety needs. All these would assist me in the health
promotion of the infants, toddlers, school age child and the adolescents. It
has opened up my options of becoming a pediatric nurse or a school nurse.
My competency will be helpful for the further development of my
interpersonal skills.

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References
Kail, R. V. (2015). Children and their development. Pearson Higher Ed.
Karkouti, I. M. (2014). Examining psychosocial identity development theories: A guideline for
professional practice. Education, 135(2), 257-263.
Kurtines, W. M. (2014). Handbook of moral behavior and development: Volume 1: Theory.
Psychology Press.
Malina, R. M. (2012). Growth. In Encyclopedia of Exercise Medicine in Health and Disease (pp.
376-378). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.