Pediatric Nurse
Alyssa Seiber
Introduction
What does being a pediatric nurse involve?
Being a pediatric nurse involves working with patients from infancy to young adult. They do routine check ups, give immunizations, and counsel patients and family members. Aside from the medical part you have to teach the kids and family about staying healthy and the importance of shots, and staying healthy.
They do things such as:
blood draws
shots
assessments
- teaching about health
Career Connections
Salary: 48,000-68,000
Work Environment:
Pediatric nurses work in doctor's offices, clinics, schools, hospitals, surgical centers, and other health care centers.
Education & Skills
- RN licence
- clinical work specializing in pediatric care
- voluntary certification by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board
- diploma
- associates or bachelors degree in registered nursing
To be a pediatric nurse you MUST be very comforting because the children you work with are most likely going to be terrified. When being a nurse you need to be empathetic and have empathy for your patients pain and suffering. Your goal should be to make a hospital visit as positive as possible. Finally when being a nurse especially with children, a good skill to have is good communication skills. This is important because your going to have to effectively have to talk to the family members as well as the children/ patients.
Courses & Extra-Curricular activities
Medical Careers:
Its a class where you go and travel to different hospitals to explore what its like working in a hospital majoring in whichever field of medical you want. This is great for people who want to go into nursing because you're not just reading about the information you get but its hands on and you experience what its like on a daily basis.
Anatomy Physiology:
This is a course that teaches you about the human body. This is a class to take because to be a nurse you need to know everything you can about the human body and taking it in high school gives you a jump start.
Although there isn't any direct clubs or extra curricular activities for the medial career, the major is science and here at Leyden they offer a science club called PRINCIPIA. According to the Association of american medical collages, there is internships and summer programs for people who want to be a nurse or doctor.