Taking care of children can be a great career choice for a registered nurse. However, pediatrics — the medical and nursing specialty focused on the care of children and adolescents — requires additional training beyond the basics you’ll acquire in nursing school.
Any registered nurse has the opportunity to specialize in pediatrics after graduation and licensure. If that’s your goal, try to take an additional elective in pediatric nursing, or job shadowing an experienced pediatric nurse. Continuing education courses in child development, child and adolescent health problems and other topics specific to children’s health will also be helpful in landing pediatric nurse jobs.
A variation on the routine pediatric nurse job is trading the hospital or clinic for a school setting. A bachelor’s degree is typically required for school nurse jobs. School nurses work with children who have chronic health conditions and disabilities, and those who become ill or injured at school. School nurses also perform health screenings, and deal with contagious illnesses. In many cases school nurses are also responsible for dealing with child abuse and mental health issues in children and adolescents.
If you’re interested in pediatric nursing jobs or school nurse jobs, you need to be able to build rapport with sick, hurt or frightened children and stressed parents. You’ll need excellent clinical assessment skills and intuition, as children can’t always tell you what’s wrong. Since children are constantly changing as they grow and develop, you’ll need to aware of what could be a symptom of an illness or issue, what “growing pains” are just a part of growing up.
When it comes to pediatric nursing, hospitals often prefer BSN-prepared nurses, although some will hire ADN or diploma nurses with the expectation that the nurse will go on for a BSN within a certain period of time. They’ll want childcare experience as well, so if you’re a new graduate, be prepared to talk about not only your schooling, but other child-related activities like being a summer camp counselor or tutor. Once you have some experience under your belt, you can sit for the national certification exam in pediatrics, which is also a plus when you’re looking for pediatric nursing jobs.
Nursing offers many niche careers. Nurses with pediatric expertise are in demand in many areas, including sub-specialty areas like pediatric oncology or orthopedics. Whether you’ve just graduated or already have experience, consider pediatric nursing as the next step in your nursing career.
Bio:
Beth Greenwood is a registered nurse with over 40 years of experience in the field, including both inpatient and outpatient care. She has been a freelance writer for six years, specializing in medical and health care topics as well as health care careers.
