Nursing Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Nursing, including details on health care, hospital staff, professional care.

Genitourinary assessment: an integral part of a complete physical examination.

Hornor G

Children's Hospital, Center for Child and Family Advocacy, Columbus, OH 43205, USA. hornorg@chi.osu.edu

This article provides primary care providers, including pediatric nurse practitioners, with a framework for completing a genitourinary assessment. Many primary care providers are reluctant to examine the genitalia of their patients. Routine genital examinations increase diagnostic skills, provide a baseline for future examinations, may improve parent and child compliance with the examination, and may reveal previously undiscovered anomalies or trauma. An assessment of the reproductive and urologic systems should begin with obtaining a focused history from the parent from birth to present. Techniques for performing a focused genitourinary examination will be discussed.

Published 4 May 2007 in J Pediatr Health Care, 21(3): 162-70.
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