Love Kids? Check Out Pediatric Nursing..
Don't you want to be part of the pediatric nursing profession? What better way can you think of to advancing in your nursing career than to be a pediatric nurse? Pediatric Nurses provide healthcare to children. These pediatric nurses are advanced practice registered nurses which have taken specialized pediatric training. This helps them in the pediatric nursing profession to assess and diagnose childhood illnesses and diseases. Pediatric Nurses can be found in hospitals and private pediatric care facilities. Duties and responsibilities of a pediatric nurse involve patient assessment and diagnosis. This includes a medical history and physical examination. Ordering lab test, determining treatment and evaluating treatment results is also part of this pediatric nursing profession. Pediatric Nurses have the job of referring patients to, or consulting with, teaching and advising children and their families about their childhood health concerns, injury prevention, growth phases, and prescribing and administering medication. Pediatric Nurses can work a wide variety of hours and days. A lot depends on where you work and what you have to do. Pediatric nurses attached to a hospital may work 8 to 12 hours a day. The eight hour shift usually goes from 7 am-3pm or 3pm -11pm, and 11pm to 7 am. Pediatric Nurses who work these shifts usually work 5 days a week. The 12 hour shift goes from 7am to 7pm and7pm to 7am. Pediatric Nurses who work this schedule usually work 3 to 4 days a week. In most any hospital you work in, you will find a wide variety of shifts available. Some pediatric nurses only work the weekends, some nurses take calls, where others may alternate their days and nights. In doctor's offices and clinics, pediatric nurses may only work the day shift. Now for the salary. The salaries pediatric nurses earn depends greatly on the area of the country in which they work and the type of facility that they work in. The average pay for an RN is around $30,000 a year. This pay can range from $20,000 to more than $50,000. Once again it can vary from $40,000 to around $100,000. How does one become a pediatric nurse? You apply to work in a healthcare profession that serves pediatric patients and receive your specialized training. There are no specialized nursing programs specifically for pediatric nurses. Hospitals offer a 3 month or longer intern program for nursing graduates that include both clinical training and classroom work specifically in pediatric nursing. When you have graduated, you can take an exam to become a Certified Pediatric Nurse. There are special classes that deal with Pediatrics. Some of them are Pediatric Advanced Life Support through the American Heart Association, Emergency Pediatric Nurse Course through Emergency Nurses Association and the Emergency Medical Services for Children. The best part of a Pediatric Nursing job is when you make that child feel better and assuring that child's parents that their little child is going to be okay. The part of the job that is the worst is when a child comes in critically injured or dies. Pediatric Nurses deserve and get a lot of respect. After all, they are the medical professionals that help care for the little angels of our world! |
