Gateway Medical center

LifeSpan Discussion: In your Check Off, you are asked how you would adapt care across the lifespan. As you click into each 'skill' tab above, you will find information about a potential patient you may encounter and are asked to identify needs across the lifespan for the patient.

Lifespan information:

Human Development or Lifespan Development is the scientific study of how people change, as well as stay the same, from conception to death. We change across three general domains; physical, cognitive, and psychosocial.

Physical: changes in height/weight, sensory capabilities, the nervous system, as well as the propensity for disease and illness. Cognitive: changes in intelligence, wisdom, perception, problem solving, memory, and language.

Psychosocial: changes in emotion, self-perception and interpersonal relationships with families, peers, and friends. All three domains influence each other. It is also important to note that a change in one domain may cascade and prompt changes in the other domains.

So what does this mean? It means, what would you do differently across the lifespan? FOr example, how might you adapt your care when giving an injection to a 2 year old, versus a 45 year old, versus a 2 year old?

Age Period Description

-Prenatal Starts at conception, continues through implantation in the uterine wall by the embryo, and ends at birth

-Infancy and Toddlerhood Starts at birth and continues to two years of age

-Early Childhood Starts at two years of age until six years of age

-Middle and Late Childhood Starts at six years of age and continues until the onset of puberty

-Adolescence Starts at the onset of puberty until 18

-Emerging Adulthood Starts at 18 until 25

-Early Adulthood Starts at 25 until 40-45

-Middle Adulthood Starts at 40-45 until 65

-Late Adulthood Starts at 65 onward