Growth & Development – Early Adulthood
Included In This Lesson
Outline
Overview
- Early adulthood is a time of transition
- Major accomplishments are often-
- Personal and economic independence
- Developing identity in love and work
- Obtaining equity with parents
- Major accomplishments are often-
Nursing Points
General
- Early adulthood = 20-40 years
Assessment
- Growth
- Height, weight, sexual matruation complete by this stage
- Development
- Works towards independence and stability
- Peak physiological performance is from 20-30 years
- Generally peak childbearing years
- Risky behaviour in early 20’s
- Cognitive
- Piaget’s stage- postformal operational thought
- Intellectual peak
- Find it easy to learn new skills and problem solve
- Piaget’s stage- postformal operational thought
- Psychosocial
- Erikson’s stage- Intimacy vs Isolation
- Career oriented
- Relationship oriented
- Marriage
- Parenting
Therapeutic Management
- Patient interactions
- Will adapt well to changes and quickly learn treatment plans
- Prime time to encourage the development of healthy habits
- Exercise and proper nutrition
- Provide family planning support
- Be sensitive to social demands patients may feel they are under
- Parenting
- Career
- Common health issues
- Accidents
- Injuries
- STD’s
- Pregnancy
- Substance abuse
Nursing Concepts
- Human Development
- Young adulthood is characterized by peak physiological performance and the pursuit of intimacy and independence.
- Patient Centered Care
- Nursing care of young adult patients should focus on health promotion and accident prevention.
Patient Education
- Educate patients on importance of testicular self-examination and breast self-examination.
Transcript
Hey guys, in this lesson we are going to go over growth and development for early adulthood.
Early adulthood is typically thought of as being from 20 years to 40 years, but there can be come overlap with the later adolescent years depending on life circumstances and responsibilities.
This is a hugely transitional phase, with the major accomplishments being all about transitioning into adulthood. So this means gaining financial independence, developing a personal identity- that is often centered on relationships and career with a sort of a general end goal of obtaining equity with parents.
For your nursing assessment we want to look at growth and physical changes, development, cognitive development and psychosocial.
physically, maturation is complete. So max height is attained and people are pretty much at their peak physical performance.
Milestones that are important for this stage are gaining independence and stability. Often, this is done through establishing a career and starting a family.
Young adults are cognitively in the postformal operational thought phase. This usually means that there is more cognitive flexibility- and a willingness to accept complexities. I mentioned that young adulthood is the physical peak, it is often thought to be the intellectual peak as well. This all means that patients in this stage are likely to be quick to learn new skills.
For psychosocial development, they are in the intimacy vs isolation phase. This goes back to those key milestones I mentioned of establishing independence and an identity that is likely shaped by career and relationship decisions.
For management, you really want your patient interactions and education to keep these things in mind. Because this is a time of mental flexibility, that means patients are more likely to be able to develop new habits so it’s a great time encourage healthy habits. Equally- this is a time to teach patients about self-care and top of the list here are self testicular and self-breast exams.
Remember career and family demands can be very intense at this stage so it’s helpful to be sensitive to this as you plan medical care.
Common health issues are accidents, injuries, and STD’s, particularly in the early 20’s when there is still and increased likeliness of risky behaviours. Substance abuse can become a problem during this stage.
Another major part of health is supporting families around pregnancy and childbearing.
Your priority nursing concepts when caring for a patient in young adulthood are human development, patient centered care and health promotion.
Okay – let’s recap the key things you need to know for young adults. This stage typically ranges from 20-40 years and is considered to be a transitional phase as people try to figure out adulthood and pursue careers and relationships. It’s a busy phase of life- balancing work, relationships and parenthood.
Risky behaviours are still a major health concern during the early 20’s and should be given some thought as you plan your patient education.
These patients are cognitively flexible and open to new ideas so it’s a great time to encourage healthy habits.
That’s it for our lesson on growth and developmental considerations for young adults. Make sure you check out all the resources attached to this lesson. Now, go out and be your best self today. Happy Nursing!
Tiona RN
Concepts Covered:
- Studying
- Medication Administration
- Adult
- Emergency Care of the Cardiac Patient
- Intraoperative Nursing
- Microbiology
- Cardiac Disorders
- Vascular Disorders
- Nervous System
- Upper GI Disorders
- Central Nervous System Disorders – Brain
- Immunological Disorders
- Fundamentals of Emergency Nursing
- Dosage Calculations
- Understanding Society
- Circulatory System
- Concepts of Pharmacology
- Hematologic Disorders
- Newborn Care
- Adulthood Growth and Development
- Disorders of Pancreas
- Postoperative Nursing
- Pregnancy Risks
- Neurological
- Postpartum Complications
- Noninfectious Respiratory Disorder
- Peripheral Nervous System Disorders
- Learning Pharmacology
- Prenatal Concepts
- Tissues and Glands
- Developmental Considerations
- Factors Influencing Community Health
- Childhood Growth and Development
- Prenatal and Neonatal Growth and Development
- Developmental Theories
- Basic
- Neonatal
- Pediatric
- Gastrointestinal
- Newborn Complications
- Labor Complications
- Fetal Development
- Terminology
- Labor and Delivery
- Postpartum Care
- Communication
- Basics of Mathematics
- Statistics
- Basics of Sociology
- Cardiovascular
- Shock
- Shock
- Disorders of the Posterior Pituitary Gland
- Endocrine
- Disorders of the Thyroid & Parathyroid Glands
- Liver & Gallbladder Disorders
- Lower GI Disorders
- Respiratory
- Delegation
- Perioperative Nursing Roles
- Acute & Chronic Renal Disorders
- Respiratory Emergencies
- Disorders of the Adrenal Gland
- Documentation and Communication
- Preoperative Nursing
- Legal and Ethical Issues
- Oncology Disorders
- Female Reproductive Disorders
- Musculoskeletal Trauma
- Renal Disorders
- Male Reproductive Disorders
- Sexually Transmitted Infections
- Infectious Respiratory Disorder
- Integumentary Disorders
- Emergency Care of the Trauma Patient
- Urinary Disorders
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- EENT Disorders
- Neurological Emergencies
- Disorders of Thermoregulation
- Neurological Trauma
- Basics of NCLEX
- Integumentary Important Points
- Multisystem
- Test Taking Strategies
- Urinary System
- Emergency Care of the Neurological Patient
- Central Nervous System Disorders – Spinal Cord
- Respiratory System
- Emergency Care of the Respiratory Patient
- Cognitive Disorders
- Anxiety Disorders
- Depressive Disorders
- Trauma-Stress Disorders
- Substance Abuse Disorders
- Bipolar Disorders
- Psychotic Disorders
- Concepts of Mental Health
- Eating Disorders
- Personality Disorders
- Health & Stress
- Psychological Emergencies
- Somatoform Disorders
- Prioritization
- Community Health Overview
- Gastrointestinal Disorders
- Integumentary Disorders
- Respiratory Disorders
- Neurologic and Cognitive Disorders
- Renal and Urinary Disorders
- Infectious Disease Disorders
- EENT Disorders
- Hematologic Disorders
- Cardiovascular Disorders
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders
- Oncologic Disorders
- Behavior
- Emotions and Motivation
- Growth & Development
- Intelligence and Language
- Psychological Disorders
- State of Consciousness
- Note Taking
- Concepts of Population Health
- Basics of Human Biology