As nurses, we tend to work with people who are in a variety of life stages, especially in a typical hospital setting. While there are advantages to having a wide breadth of knowledge across the field, there are also opportunities to specialize in a particular disease course (such as oncology or urology) and/or a specific age group (such as pediatrics or geriatrics).
Nurses thinking about specializing in pediatrics should consider the career from all angles, as it may be in your best interest to try to steer your clinical hours and early work experiences toward the younger population.
It’s also important to examine yourself and explore whether your personality aligns well with working in a pediatric setting. All medical settings can be rewarding and challenging, and they each require different skillsets, depending on the patient population. This is why nursing education doesn’t end after school.
If you have an interest in working in a pediatric specialty setting, you’ll want to consider the following:
Research your ideal work setting
Pediatric nurses can be found in children’s specialty hospitals, community hospitals, outpatient offices, and schools, among other places. Having an idea of the type of setting you want to pursue can help you tailor your education and experiences more directly.
For example, working in a public school setting is quite different from working in a pediatric intensive care unit. The knowledge and skills will overlap in some ways, but your job responsibilities and expectations will be quite different.
Make an education plan
Education can be either formal or informal. Nurses are required to earn either a Bachelor of Science or an Associate Degree in nursing. They must also pass the NCLEX-RN and fulfill any additional licensure requirements determined by the state.
Pediatric nurses can further their formal education by pursing an advanced nursing degree or working toward becoming a Certified Pediatric Nurse (through the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board). Keep in mind that this certification requires a number of hours of experience in a pediatric setting (1,800 hours of pediatric work in 24 months or 3,000 hours across 5 years), and you must pass a multiple-choice exam.
While ongoing formal education is generally helpful for increasing your job prospects, nurses are not required to earn any additional certifications (beyond basic nursing requirements) to work in pediatrics.
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Learn how to talk to parents
A great portion of being a pediatric nurse is providing education and reassurance to anxious parents. This type of communication requires the skill of effectively providing information in a manner that is calm and empathetic.
One way to improve your confidence when speaking with patients’ parents is to ensure you have a basic understanding of developmental and behavior milestones and patterns that are commonly seen in the pediatric population. Keep in mind that these milestones are useful for making generalizations but may not apply to every single child.
Parents tend to become protective and emotional when their child is sick or hurt. This is only natural. Learning how to remain calm and to communicate in a manner that does not further escalate the situation is generally a skill that is learned through experience. Researching generalized techniques for communication during intense situations may be a useful way to prepare yourself for these encounters.
Learn how to listen
This tip applies to nurses working with all types of patients (and really, to anyone who interacts with others on a daily basis). Parents know their kids better than anyone else in the world. They are familiar with their daily schedule, behaviors, and habits, making them the greatest source of information for you as a nurse.
Sometimes, children do not have the language skills or emotional maturity to be able to effectively articulate their symptoms. In these cases, it can be helpful to study body language and non-verbal cues to gather more information on how the patient is feeling.
Understand the physical differences
Although this may seem obvious, fully developed bodies are different from the bodies of children and adolescents. As a pediatric nurse, you’ll need to know what to expect in terms of development, and you’ll also have to keep in mind that an individual’s reaction to a particular procedure or medication will likely be affected by both age and size.
If you’re in nursing school or already a nurse, you’ve probably taken basic or advanced life support classes numerous times. Recommendations for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are different for an infant compared to an adult. This is just one example of the many ways you will have to adapt your practice if you choose to work in a primarily pediatric population.
Ignite your creativity
One of the huge differences in working with children versus adults is the manner in which you interact with your patients. An adult may not look forward to getting an injection, but he or she will (likely) allow you to go through with the shot without a fight. A child, on the other hand, may have been dreading the injection all week and is probably going to be on guard from the beginning of the appointment.
Learning how to make children feel more comfortable in a medical setting can be tough. You’ll need to have patience and to maintain an open mind. Children love to play, and learning to take yourself less seriously can help them warm up to you more quickly. Making funny faces, playing a well-known song, and speaking in a calm, cheerful voice are examples of creative ways you can develop rapport with your young patients.
