Promoting Understanding of Neurological Assessment

Price (includes one year of access and CE):  US$10 Course Code: 7SENNF-PRV-09-ddn26 CE: 1.75 Hours. Post Test Score Required for Successful Completion: 80%

Course Overview:

Clients with developmental disabilities can be affected by a wide range of neurological disorders due to brain damage occurring before, during, or after birth. This module focuses on how the nurse can help caregivers to understand their importance as aware observers and prompt reporters of changes from the client's usual neurological baseline. The module explains various components of neurological assessment (mental status; cerebellar function; and cranial, motor, and sensory nerve function). It correlates abnormal neurological findings to common syndromes and conditions in clients with developmental disabilities, and then describes how and what nurses can teach about the implications of these findings to help caregivers modify care based on each client's need for accommodations to overcome neurological limitations.

Course Objectives:

After completion of this learning activity, the learner will be able to:

• define neurological assessment.
• define and interpret for caregivers the terminology commonly used by medical, therapeutic, and educational professionals related to care of clients who have developmental disabilities.
• describe how a neurological assessment is done for clients who have developmental disabilities.
• explain common neurological assessment findings and their implications for the caregiver of a person who has a developmental disability.
• explain the role of the caregiver in identifying and reporting variations from a client's baseline assessment findings.
• in selected simulated client scenarios across the lifespan, provide guidance designed to help caregivers apply assessment findings to the support of clients with developmental disabilities.

This courseware was made possible in part by grant number R43 NR04738-03 from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors.

Copyright© 2007 by HealthSoft, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

HealthSoft, Inc. is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the New York State Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

It has been assigned code 7SENNF-PRV-09.

This course is updated annually. Expiration date: 5/1/11

The faculty and planners of this course have no vested interests to disclose.

This course has received no commercial support.