Pediatric nursing is a nursing subspecialty that deals with providing nursing services to children and adolescents. Registered nurses, who are trained and specialized in pediatrics domain, work towards delivering care to patients under the age of 21. They work in various settings including hospitals, clinics, and other medical facility centers. Pediatric nurses work closely with doctors in offering treatment and information about diseases that are common during the childhood and adolescent days. From cardiology, endocrinology, to neonatology, oncology, pulmonary, pediatric nurses may acquire specialization in different sub-branches of medicine to perform their job efficiently.
The responsibilities of a pediatric nurse include:
- Provide long-term treatments
- Conduct physical tests
- Diagnose and prescribe medication
- Administer immunization in young patients
- Draw blood and give vaccinations
- Record-keeping of patient’s treatment progress
- Monitor and manage patient’s recovery process
- Evaluate a child’s health symptoms and abuse signs
- Offer supportive care
- Act and serve as a child advocate
- Look after the child’s medication intake according to appropriate guidelines
To become a pediatric nurse, the prospect must first be a registered nurse. Then with advanced training in the pediatric clinical nursing, they need to complete a pediatric CNS program to start practicing as CNS.
