Editing Pediatric Nursing (section)

=== Consent and communication ===

* Consent is provided by the parent or legal guardian. The child's '''assent''' should be sought when developmentally appropriate.
* '''Emancipated minors''', and in many jurisdictions minors seeking care related to sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, contraception, or substance use, may consent for themselves. State law varies.
* '''Emergency treatment necessary to preserve life or limb is not withheld while awaiting consent.'''
* Interview adolescents alone for part of the visit to allow confidential disclosure, while explaining the limits of confidentiality.
* Nurses are '''mandated reporters''' of suspected abuse or neglect. Suspicious findings include injuries inconsistent with the reported mechanism or the child's developmental stage, injuries in various stages of healing, delay in seeking care, patterned burns such as symmetric stocking or glove immersion burns, and posterior rib fractures. '''Report suspicion; proof is not required.''' Document objectively using direct quotations rather than conclusions.