Children's Health (PEK_044)
About Study Course
Objective
The study course is intended for students of the 3rd year of studies of the Midwifery study programme of the Faculty of Nursing Studies. In the Children’s Health study course, the student learns the structural and functional features of a healthy child’s body, the regularities of growth and development, the principles of health promotion for children, in-depth knowledge of the most common pathologies in children, as well as learns to develop the necessary skills and attitude of a midwife in working with children.
Prerequisites
In the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences that develop students’ critical creative thinking skills, understanding of man as a living being and their role in the society.
In foreign languages (Russian, English or German, Latin).
In preclinical disciplines: human anatomy, physiology, cell and medical biology, microbiology, embryology, genetics, parasitology, medical and biophysics, medicinal chemistry, histology.
In medical terminology in Latvian, English, Russian and Latin.
Learning outcomes
After successful fulfilment of the requirements of the Children’s Health study course, the student will have acquired knowledge that will allow:
To describe the role of paediatrics in medicine, directions of its development, the state of children’s health in Latvia. To evaluate the stages of child’s age. To evaluate the importance of anamnesis and the specifics of taking it about children, the growth and physical development of a healthy child at different ages, as well as the child’s motor development at different ages. To understand the child’s psychosocial development, formation of perception, language and personality. To explain the principles of health promotion.
To evaluate the structural and functional features of the digestive, respiratory, and urinary systems in children, examination methodology and semiotics. To explain the importance of nutrition for a growing body, breastfeeding, promotion, protection and monitoring of breastfeeding, artificial feeding of infants, as well as the importance of additional nutrition and family nutrition. To understand children’s immunity, the specifics of its formation in children. To recognise food allergies. To understand the metabolism of minerals and vitamins. To recognise vitamin D deficiency rickets.
To understand the specifics of the haematopoietic system at different ages. To differentiate between deficiency anaemias.
To recognise the most common infections in children, nosocomial infections, know the principles of the treatment and prevention thereof.
To know about the vaccination programme for children in Latvia, explain the importance of vaccination in disease control and prevention.
The study course improves learning skills, research skills and the ability to apply the acquired knowledge in practice. The study course improves cognitive and methodological skills. After completing the study course, the student will be able to formulate key words, orient oneself in academic literature and online databases to find the necessary information about a healthy child, a child in the perinatal and neonatal period.
The study course gives the competence to understand and apply the basic concepts learned in the study course.
The study course improves cognitive and methodological skills for finding the necessary information about healthy children and the most common diseases in children of different ages in academic literature and online databases.
The study course gives the necessary skills and abilities for the examination of a healthy and sick child, as well as the competence to draw conclusions after collecting the obtained results – the student will know how to communicate with the child according to their age, take an anamnesis, perform a clinical examination assessing deviations from the norm, assess the patient’s condition, offer solutions in diagnosis, treatment and prevention within the limits of one’s competence, document the results in the patient examination protocol and report them to colleagues, using the terminology accepted in medicine, observing ethical principles and requirements for the protection of personal data. The student will be able to measure the child’s physical activity, prescribe feeding according to the child’s age.
Study course planning
| Study programme | Study semester | Program level | Study course category | Lecturers | Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midwifery, MZFVb | 6 | Bachelor’s | Required | Kristīne Rasnača, Amanda Smildzere, Dina Apele-Freimane, Dace Sniedze |
