Pediatric nurses are essential health care and medical providers to children from birth to teenagers. The nurses offer expert care to the child and are still working with their families to address their fears, problems, concerns, and options. Pediatric nurses work in various settings such as hospitals, doctor’s offices, surgical centers, clinics or other health-related facilities.
The primary tasks a general pediatric nurse performs as identified by the National certification board of Pediatric nurse practitioners and Nurses include the following.
Pediatric nurses are responsible for identifying signs and symptoms, and also they intervene in emergencies. We hold and expect pediatric nurses to maintain high levels of integrity and confidentiality, especially when it comes to nurse/child relationships. They are responsible for differentiating physical findings and classify them as either normal or abnormal. Pediatric nurses are children’s advocates, and they participate in activities that ease pain from children.
Another function of a pediatric nurse is analyzing situations to anticipate pathophysiological problems and detection of any status change. Similarly, pediatric nurses follow strictly set guidelines while administering age-appropriate drugs.
Pediatric nurses are at the forefront, always when it comes to determining a child’s need, especially those related to pain management. Not just the management of pain, but pediatric nurses are responsible for evaluating a child’s signs and symptoms of abuse and taking necessary actions. Finally, pediatric nurses are very critical players, especially when it comes to providing supportive care to dying children.
Other than the above-stipulated activities, a professional with nursing degrees in Kansas City will be frequently involved in the planning of care for the child with its family. Subsequently, they will be responsible for determining what the child’s needs based on the analysis of the symptoms. As the child grows, pediatric nurses are responsible for determining their growth and development needs.
There are also other areas pediatric nurses can specialize in, such as cardiology, pediatric emergency, oncology, neonatology, pulmonary or trauma, and they perfectly perform tasks related to these specialties.
It can sometimes be both rewarding and challenging to be a pediatric nurse; most of the time, you will be dealing with the child as a patient with the anxieties they come with coupled with the demands of their parents. It can be a challenging task, especially when you are dealing with a dying child, and this affects psychologically most pediatric nurses. On the other hand, watching a sick child recovers provides immeasurable joy to the nurse.
Pediatric nurses with nursing degrees in Kansas City can specialize as a pediatric nurse practitioner or PNP by completing a nursing degree that offers PNP education. Similarly, they can specialize as a pediatric clinical nurse specialist by completing the pediatric CNS program. Several certification bodies are responsible for accreditation and certifying pediatric nurses.
For you to become a pediatric nurse, there are several steps you have to complete first. First is completing a nursing school and getting registered and licensed as a registered nurse. Most nursing undergraduate schools do not offer any specializations, and you are required to take a job as a pediatric nurse. But most hospitals provide training programs to prepare new nurses with the knowledge they need as pediatric nurses.
With time and experience, a pediatric nurse can choose to specialize and become certified in pediatrics as a registered nurse board certified. The American Nurses credentialing Center offers this certification. Alternatively, a pediatric nurse seeking other certification options other than general pediatric can as well go through the pediatric nurse certification board. The following options are available for specialization. You can specialize as a pediatric nurse, pediatric emergency nurse, or a pediatric primary care mental health specialist.
