What does a day in the life of a pediatric nurse look like? (2023)

What does a day in life look like for a nurse?

Working as a registered nurse, you can expect your days to include: Checking vital signs. Providing direct patient care: conducting physical and psychological assessments, administer medications, collaborate with other healthcare team members to provide holistic care. Interpret lab and other diagnostic test.

Children's nurses assess, plan, co-ordinate and manage care working closely with the family to support and guide them in maintaining their role and relationship with the child or young person.

Registered Nurse Job Duties and Responsibilities

Assessing, observing, and speaking to patients. Recording details and symptoms of patient medical history and current health. Preparing patients for exams and treatment. Administering medications and treatments, then monitoring patients for side effects and reactions.

Pediatric nurses provide health and medical care for children from birth through their late teens. These nurses have special training to provide expert care to the child while working with the family to address their concerns, problems, and to help them understand treatment options.

What is a typical nurse schedule? A typical workday for a nurse is a 12-hour shift either from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Because of the long days, nurses usually work only three days a week. At the start of a shift, nurses will check in for a "handoff" from the nurse currently working in their area.

I'm A Children's Nurse But I Also Look After Adults

Even though I am qualified as a Children's Nurse I am now competent to practice with Adults needing total parental nutrition via central lines or picc lines and also to look after adults with complex care as long as my clinical skills match their requirements.

Pediatric nurses are registered nurses who specialize in caring for patients from birth through adolescence. They must have a deep knowledge of child growth and development as diseases and conditions in children often present and are treated differently than in adults.

What are the five duties of a nurse?

Utilizing a patient- and family-centered care approach, pediatric nurses strive for preventing illness and injury, restoring health, and maximizing comfort in health conditions and at the end of life, through diagnosis, treatment, and management of the child's condition and advocacy in the care of children and families ...

One advantage of being a pediatric nurse is the ability to work primarily alongside children, reassuring them when they are afraid of medical tests or even staying in the hospital. An additional advantage of working closely with children is that you can offer hope and care to the children you are treating.

Under California law, workers must receive at least one break of at least 10 minutes for every four work hours. Nurses and other workers can choose to waive these breaks but must have a written agreement with their employer in order to do so.

Twelve-hour shifts usually translate to three-day work weeks, but a majority of nurses are not frolicking through life as four-day weekend warriors. We're do-ers, which means we optimize this unique work schedule in order to maximize our lives (and sometimes recover from the previous three shifts!).

Only record facts and important events

When constructing notes, including only factual, first-hand information is the best way to ensure that medical records are accurate and helpful. Even when there are many events occurring at once, nurses must also focus on recording notes in consecutive order, as the events occur.

How do nurses start a shift?

Adult nurses usually have a good understanding of disease pathophysiology, and how one body system affects another. Pediatric nursing is usually more straightforward. Children typically have fewer allergies, limited to no medical history, no surgical history, and a single medical problem with an associated etiology.

As anyone who has worked in pediatrics could tell you, peds nursing is not easier than adult nursing, and at times it is more difficult. In peds, you might be assigned 5 patients, just like on a med surg floor. But your patients can't all speak for themselves.

Pediatric nursing is much more difficult than other types of nursing due to the age and care that these young patients need. These nurses make their young patients' a little less frightened by using their patience and warm personalities.

A neonatal nurse cares for newborn babies. They help new parents hold, bathe, and feed their baby, and often act as a bridge between the parent and the specialists working with the infant.

Step 1: Earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree; the completion of this 4-year program qualifies and individual as a Registered Nurse (RN). Step 2: Find an internship that allows RNs to work alongside a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner or a doctor.

Having a way with kids

A natural rapport with children may be the most important reason to pursue a career as a pediatric nurse. Many pediatric nursing professionals have clever techniques for winning over their young patients.

In most hospitals, pediatric nurses will work a 12-hour period per shift, and that may stretch into more time if patient needs are high. If the facility uses a three-shift model with overlapping shifts, the pediatric nurse will likely work a ten-hour shift.

Florence Nightingale (Figure 1), the founder of modern nursing of professional nursing, was born in Florence, Italy, on 1820, in an English family; she was named of the city of her birth.

What Colour uniforms do nurses wear?

Registered Nurses make up the main body of Nursing Staff. They wear a light blue uniform with white piping.

The bottom line is the patient does have a right to know his or her diagnosis, for two main ethical reasons: 1) it is the patient's information, not anyone else's, so the patient is entitled to that information; and 2) there will always be additional decisions to make, even if the diagnosis is terminal, so the patient ...

Most hospitals and healthcare facilities demand that nurses wear scrubs, to promote all of the aforementioned benefits. And, at this point, it's almost taken for granted that nurses wear scrubs. Medical scrubs are sanitary, allow for easy identification, offer maximum pocket space and protect the wearer's skin.

Nurses are held accountable to their patient by the fulfilling their obligations set for in the Scope and Standards of Practice and the Code of Ethics.

Generally, suturing a wound closed is considered to be a “minor surgical procedure.” As such, it is not within the purview of most nurses. But advanced practice nurses and emergency room RNs can sometimes place stitches.

Compassionate

One of the most important qualities of a good nurse is compassion. In their career, nurses will see patients suffer. Beyond simply offering a solution, they must be able to express compassion for patients and their families. This allows them to form meaningful relationships with their patients.

A nurse is a person who is trained to give care to people who are sick or injured. Nurses work with doctors and other health care workers to make patients well and to keep them fit and healthy. Nurses also help with end-of-life needs and assist other family members with grieving.

Life as a pediatric nurse is a physically and emotionally demanding career. It requires significant levels of empathy, the ability to lift and wrestle everything from wriggling children to heavy testing equipment.

Pediatric nursing can be very rewarding and present you with interesting challenges. You have the opportunity to not only work with children but their families as well. If you like working with kids and are comfortable around them, pediatrics may be a good specialty to consider.

Is being a child nurse worth it?

Conclusion. Paediatric / Children's nursing offers diverse career opportunities, great job satisfaction and endless learning possibilities. It can be challenging, sure, but rewarding and is a great career for an enthusiastic and caring team player.

The pediatric nurse will discuss a child's symptoms and medical history, provide initial care, administer prescribed medication, and monitor the patient's progress. The pediatric nurse will also provide support to families and work with them to address their concerns, fears, problems, and options.

1. The nurse knows what to expect of a particular child at a given age. 2. The nurse can judge each child whether he/she is normal for specific level of development.

Pediatric nursing duties are similar to nursing duties in other departments, although there is typically more interaction with the patient's family. Working with children who are sick is emotionally draining so it's important to take good care of yourself if you choose to work in this profession.

Extra Interview Tips for Pediatric Nurses

Dress professionally for your interview; business to business-casual is fine. A suit isn't necessary, but it wouldn't be inappropriate. If you wear makeup or jewelry, be sure it's professional-looking and subtle. If you have any tattoos, consider covering them, if possible.

Pediatric nursing is a rewarding career, but it's also a stressful one. No matter what type of nurse you are, you can expect long hours on your feet, time constraints to get work done and the emotional toll of watching patients endure illness and death.

Being a nurse is one of the most challenging jobs someone could do. It's physically and mentally demanding at times. However, at the end of the day, you feel amazing satisfaction and pride. Being able to help those in need for a living is unlike any other profession."

Nurses are able to clump shifts together in order to have longer chunks of time off. Some nurses use this flexibility to work a per diem job, attend school, volunteer, or travel. Ideally, all nurses would love to be able to spend their days off relaxing and spending time with friends and family.

Nurses care for injuries, administer medications, conduct frequent medical examinations, record detailed medical histories, monitor heart rate and blood pressure, perform diagnostic tests, operate medical equipment, draw blood, and admit/discharge patients according to physician orders.

What do nurses do during their shift?

Once a nurse has settled into their shift, they'll typically head out to make the first patient rounds of the day. This includes communicating with patients, actively listening to their needs, taking vitals, and recording everything in the patient chart.

Confused patients can pull on dangling jewelry and cause injury, so be sure to avoid necklaces and wear post earrings. Do not wear bracelets. They can touch and contaminate wounds or supplies that must be kept sterile or clean. Generally, a watch, wedding band and simple post earrings are acceptable.

No, being a nurse and being a doctor are both equally hard. While they both face different challenges it's hard to look at either profession and say that one is “easier” than the other.

Most hospitals and healthcare facilities demand that nurses wear scrubs, to promote all of the aforementioned benefits. And, at this point, it's almost taken for granted that nurses wear scrubs. Medical scrubs are sanitary, allow for easy identification, offer maximum pocket space and protect the wearer's skin.

Under California law, workers must receive at least one break of at least 10 minutes for every four work hours. Nurses and other workers can choose to waive these breaks but must have a written agreement with their employer in order to do so.

In general, researchers have found that nurses are 39% more likely to live longer than the general population. We also carry a lower risk for heart disease, stroke and many forms of cancer in general.

Depending on where you work, you could be responsible for one patient at a time (in a surgical setting, for example) or up to six patients (in a psychiatric ward). In some settings, such as large, busy hospitals, a nurse could be asked to care for eight or more patients at a time.

Florence Nightingale (Figure 1), the founder of modern nursing of professional nursing, was born in Florence, Italy, on 1820, in an English family; she was named of the city of her birth.

The bottom line is the patient does have a right to know his or her diagnosis, for two main ethical reasons: 1) it is the patient's information, not anyone else's, so the patient is entitled to that information; and 2) there will always be additional decisions to make, even if the diagnosis is terminal, so the patient ...

Do nurses do stitches?

Generally, suturing a wound closed is considered to be a “minor surgical procedure.” As such, it is not within the purview of most nurses. But advanced practice nurses and emergency room RNs can sometimes place stitches.

The night shift can be significantly easier to start with for new nurses. It doesn't have the overwhelming stress of many patients and doctors going in and out. On the contrary, the night shift will enable you to learn at a slower pace.