Everything you Need to Know About Pediatric Nursing

The nursing profession is constantly evolving – there are dozens of different nursing specialties that are influenced by the innovations of the medical field. Today, Gifted Healthcare highlights Pediatric (Peds) Nursing. A pediatric nurse cares for patients between infancy and adulthood and has a unique role within the medical community.

Read on to learn about the duties and benefits of pediatric nursing.

Roles & Responsibilities

Because pediatric nurses care for patients between infancy and adulthood, their patients are children. This requires Peds RNs to display a deep understanding of human growth and development.

Peds nurses are required to perform many of the same duties as an RN that cares for adults. However, Peds nurses perform their duties with special attention – and studies show that they have a much larger impact on their patients’ long-term health.

In addition to taking extra care with their tasks, pediatric RNs must approach their relationship with patients differently than nurses caring for adults. A pediatrics nurse must be warm, compassionate, and good with children. At times, Peds nurses act as a substitute for a parent or loved one, making silly jokes and playing games with their patients

Why Is Pediatric Nursing Unique?

The pediatric nursing experience is unique in significant ways.

First, pediatric nurses must be excellent interpersonal communicators. They interact directly with their patients more than any other kind of nurse.

A great pediatric nurse is a great listener. Depending on their age, pediatric patients often communicate much differently than adults, so pediatric nurses must be observant of the emotional states and non-verbal cues of their patients.

Pediatric nurses also interact with the families of their patients more than other kinds of nurses. Pediatric patients’ families are very involved with their care and recovery, so nurses must communicate effectively with everyone responsible for their patients’ well-being.

This specialty of nursing can be psychologically taxing – but it’s extremely rewarding. Pediatric RNs have deeply moving and joyous experiences on a regular basis even while caring for severely or terminally ill patients.

Daily Tasks

According to the Institute of Pediatric Nursing, pediatric registered nurses most commonly work in:

Free-standing children’s hospitals (30.3 percent)
Children’s hospitals associated with a major medical center (28.3 percent)
Outpatient specialty care (11.7 percent)

A pediatric nurse’s routine is similar to nurses in other specialties. The following list outlines the daily responsibilities of a pediatric nurse:

Assess patients’ conditions
Record patients’ medical histories and symptoms
Observe patients and record the observations
Administer patients’ medicines and treatments
Help perform diagnostic tests and analyze the results
Teach patients and their families how to manage illnesses or injuries
Read more here.

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) Nursing

PICU nurses are a type of pediatric nurse that has similar duties to the ICU. They treat adolescent patients with serious or life-threatening conditions.

PICU nurses typically care for fewer patients per shift than standard Peds nurses. They must constantly be alert and work quickly to stabilize a patient’s condition during emergency health issues.

PICU nurses have said that guiding a patient to a successful recovery from a critical condition is an extremely rewarding experience.

Other subspecialties include Peds Operating Room (OR) nursing and Peds Emergency Room (ER) nursing.

Pediatric Nurses Are Heroes

Gifted is honored to support all Pediatric Nurses!

Peds nurses display a tremendous amount of skill, care, and compassion every day. They play a critical role in their patients’ successes – clinically, developmentally, and emotionally.