clinical rotation of a child

This week’s discussion will focus on the sick child and when it is necessary to refer. Please give an example from your clinical rotation of a child who was referred on to another health care provider. Include in your discussion the concept of “scope of practice” as defined in the location where you work.

Follow-up after referral is a responsibility of the nurse practitioner and requires collaboration with other health care professionals as well as current knowledge of the problem being addressed. Not addressing follow-up can be a legal and malpractice issue. (I chose referral to Pediatric ENT specialist due to multiple recurrent ear infections in the year).

Topic: Know when to refer to a specialist

Also, address the reasons for the referral and its timeliness. For example, is this urgent? Emergency? Non-emergent? Why?