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Pediatric nurses are registered nurses (RNs) who work specifically with children and adolescents. They work in hospitals, clinics, doctors' offices, non-profit medical services groups, schools, outpatient facilities or provide in-home services. With the increasing workload of physicians, pediatric nurses are often the key contact person for patients and their parents.
What Does a Pediatric Nurse Do?
Pediatric nurses work with pediatricians to provide care for children and adolescents. They perform physical exams, diagnose illnesses and injuries and provide child health care education to patients' families. Pediatric nurses may also perform the following tasks:
Because pediatric nurses work with kids, they typically have excellent rapport with children of all ages.
Pediatric Nurse Education Requirements
In terms of educational background, pediatric nurse requirements include either an associate's or a bachelor's degree in nursing. An associate's degree (ADN) typically takes two years to complete, while a bachelor's degree (BSN) takes four years. ADN programs are offered by community colleges. Nurses can expect good job prospects regardless of their degree, but a bachelor's degree offers the best opportunities for advancement and pay. Several universities offer online associate's degrees as well as specialty degrees such as RN to BSN, which lets RNs with associate's degrees obtain their bachelor's degrees online. If you are a recent high school graduate with relatively few classes in the sciences, you might want to take some additional classes to help prepare you for your degree program. A college-level admissions exam, such as the SAT or ACT, is required for four-year degree programs, but not for associate's degrees. A master's degree is required for pediatric nurses who would like to become pediatric nurse practitioners, which will allow them to work independently of physicians and give them the authority to write prescriptions. Advanced training in pediatrics is also a requirement.
Coursework often includes classes in nursing, anatomy, psychology, physiology, chemistry and other sciences. All nursing programs include supervised clinical work experience, traditionally in a hospital.
Pediatric Nurse Requirements: Certification
Nursing program graduates in every state need to pass a national certification exam called the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) to obtain their license. Several states also have continuing education requirements.
In order to obtain your RN license and to work as a pediatric nurse, you need to:
RNs who would like to advance their careers and obtain additional credentials and skills can take advantage of voluntary credentialing from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, which also provides a wealth of continuing education opportunities, or the National League for Nursing.
Pediatric Nurse Career Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts a 22 percent growth rate in employment for RNs in all specializations between 2008 and 2018. The median annual wage for registered nurses as of May 2009 was $63,750.
If nursing is your calling and you love working with children, start working towards these pediatric nurse requirements and you'll be on your way to a truly rewarding and bright future.
Resources for Pediatric Nurses:
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