One sets out to be a pediatric nurse upon receiving a license to practice as an RN. There are no long-term specialization courses for pediatric nursing within the bachelor’s programs leading to registered nurse status. You apply to work in a site that gives you the opportunity to work with pediatric patients, and you get your training there. Some hospitals step up and provide training for pediatric nursing. A nearby example is a hospital with a three month intern program offered to new nursing graduates that includes both classroom and clinical training. Hospitals that are having trouble retaining experienced nurses are turning to these types of continuing education perks for their nursing staffs.
Credentials for the Pediatric Nurse
Continuing education programs will often provide their own certificate, establishing that you have completed their course of training. You can take an exam through the American Nurses Association to become a Certified Pediatrics Nurse; there are academic and/or experiential requirements for taking that test. The American Heart Association offers a course in Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS). There is an Emergency Nurse Pediatric Course that is made available through the Emergency Nurses Association. There are also master’s programs that provide RNs with bachelor’s degrees an opportunity to achieve an advanced degree focused on pediatric nursing.
A Pediatric Nurse on the Job
In an emergency room setting, a pediatric nurse will perform the basic functions involved in tending to childhood illness and injury. An emergency pediatric nurse will start IVs, perform catheterizations to collect urines, collect stool samples, perform basic eye exams, obtain vital signs (temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure), perform head to toe assessments, administer medications (Intravenous, intramuscular, rectally, and by mouth), do a lot of parent and patient teaching, perform CPR, administer blood,
help with splinting of broken bones, and so on.
A pediatric nurse in a physician’s office will be involved in many of the same duties. A doctor’s office isn’t going to see as much severe trauma, but is more likely to encounter recurring illnesses, allergies, minor injuries and, of course, the standard “visit to the doctor” which with a child can often involve inoculation and physical exams.
The Special Traits of a Good Pediatric Nurse
In a hospital, the pediatric nurse is in the maintenance role of all hospital staff nurses, but working with a patient population that is often frightened and confused. That is true with pediatric patients in all settings and learning to deal with the patient’s mental state along with the parental concern is what sets a pediatric nurse apart.
All nurses who have not yet undergone the burnout factor have an uncommon degree of compassion; that in part is what leads people to the profession. In pediatric nursing, the nurse’s compassion must be tempered with extraordinary patience for the frightened, confused child and, in some cases, an hysterical parent or two. A good pediatric nurse have the ability to put a child at ease and, often just as important, separate the child from the parent so that the patient’s fears aren’t fed by the parent’s histrionics. There’s a lot of on-the-spot diplomacy that goes with the job. That role in turn requires knowing when to be firm and when to be flexible.
