Rocking the Newborn Assessment: A Head-to-Toe Approach
Assessing newborns in the community requires a systematic approach, strong observational skills, and confidence in recognizing both normal findings and signs of concern. Rocking the Newborn Assessment: A Head to Toe Approach provides nurses and community staff with a practical framework for completing a comprehensive newborn assessment in community settings. This presentation will review key components of the newborn history and physical examination, including growth, feeding, development, and common normal variations. Participants will explore clinical findings that may indicate an unwell newborn and require timely consultation, referral, or urgent medical assessment. Emphasis will also be placed on supporting parents and caregivers through clear education and anticipatory guidance related to feeding, safe sleep, routine newborn care, and when to seek further medical attention. Through a practical, head-to-toe approach, participants will strengthen their knowledge, assessment skills, and confidence in supporting the health and well-being of newborns and their families.
By the end of this event, participants will:
- Complete a systematic newborn assessment, including relevant history, physical examination, growth, feeding, and developmental considerations.
- Identify normal newborn findings and common variations encountered during assessment in the community setting.
- Recognize red flags and signs of an unwell newborn that require timely consultation, referral, or urgent medical assessment.
- Provide appropriate education and anticipatory guidance to parents/caregivers related to feeding, safe sleep, newborn care, and when to seek medical attention.
About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Aric Rankin is a settler Canadian and aspiring ally to Indigenous communities who lives and works in Hamilton, Ontario, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosauonee Peoples. Aric is a Nurse Practitioner and works at De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Center and is an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University teaching in the undergraduate nursing program as well as nurse practitioner graduate program. Aric has worked with First Nation communities in urban and isolated fly-in settings for 20 years. Aric’s research focuses on Indigenous health inequity and Indigenous self-determination, specifically the Indigenous Patient Navigator role.