GROWTH

Rationale
Prerequisites
Competencies
Processes

Rationale
Growth is a defining feature of childhood. Genetic and environmental factors influence the rate of growth and the final stature and body habitus the child attains. Regular monitoring of growth provides the clinician with one of the best indicators of the underlying health of the child.

Prerequisites
Knowledge of the genetic, endocrine, nutritional, and psychosocial influences on growth.

Competencies

Knowledge

1. Describe variants of normal growth in healthy children, (e.g. familial short stature and constitutional delay). (CP)
2. Identify and describe abnormal growth patterns based on the family growth history and the child's previous growth e.g. microcephaly, macrocephaly, short stature, obesity, growth abnormalities related to specific physical findings. (CP)
3. Identify failure to thrive and overweight/obesity in a child or adolescent using BMI and other growth measures and outline the differential diagnosis and initial evaluation. (CP)

Skills

1. Demonstrate ability to measure and assess growth including height/length, weight, and head circumference and body mass index in patient encounters using standard growth charts. (CP)

Processes
All students on the Pediatric Clerkship should see a patient with a patient with real or possible (e. g. parental concern) issues related to growth (e.g. failure to thrive, obesity, short stature, macrocephaly, microcephaly, constitutional delay, small for gestation age). This can be in the context of a well child examination or a child with a known disorder.

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