An important aspect of outpatient nursing is preventative care. This includes primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention measures. The goal of preventative care is to empower patients towards wellness and reduce the risk of disease and injury. Essential components of preventative care are immunizations, screening, and health education. Identifying risk factors enables the healthcare team to encourage lifestyle modifications that minimize the risk and proactively screen to achieve early identification of disease.

While RNs may be involved in administration of immunizations and screening tests, a significant role of the RN involves patient education. It is the healthcare team's responsibility to recognize risk factors and understand age appropriate recommendations, offering personalized health education to patients. Using the resources below, you can identify appropriate screening and education topics for your patients.

Screening Recommendations: U.S. Preventative Services Task Force

The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) provides national screening recommendations for the primary care setting. Follow the link below and enter your desired topic into the search field. If the topic does not appear, try using different terminology (topics are usually categorized by disease; for example, "Breast Cancer: Screening", rather than "Mammogram"). Link: https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Name/recommendations

You can also download the USPSTF's app. This can be used to search for specific screening recommendations or you can enter the patient's demographics and immediately view a generated list of applicable screening recommendations. Link: https://epss.ahrq.gov/PDA/index.jsp

Childhood Milestones: Bright Futures

Bright Futures offers a wealth of information about pediatric care. Follow the link to download the free pocket guide, which outlines what milestones should be assessed at an outpatient well-check, according to the age of the child. Explore the website to discover other pediatric guidelines and best practice information. Link: https://brightfutures.aap.org/materials-and-tools/guidelines-and-pocket-guide/Pages/default.aspx. Parents who are interested in tracking their child's development and milestones can download a free mobile app created by the CDC from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones-app.html .

Immunization Schedules: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has immunization schedules for infants, children, and adults. They also have other resources for clinicians, including recommendations for travelers' vaccines, how to catch up with immunizations, and safe administration techniques. Link: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/index.html

*The above information was derived from the Core Curriculum for Ambulatory Care Nursing, 4th edition, by Candia Laughlin & Stephanie Witwer. Used with permission of AAACN. Find more information at https://www.aaacn.org/

Other Sources

U.S. Preventative Services Task Force - Recommendation Topics: https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Name/recommendations

Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality - Electronic Preventative Services Selector App: https://epss.ahrq.gov/PDAA/index.jsp

Bright Futures Guidelines & Pocket Guide: https://brightfutures.aap.org/materials-and-tools/guidelines-and-pocket-guide/Pages/default.aspx

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention - Milestone Tracker App: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones-app.html

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention - Immunization Schedules: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/index.html

Image: http://onzinearticles.com/2016/07/all-the-reasons-to-be-a-healthy-person/