Pediatric Nurse

Job Description

A pediatric nurse is one who uses his or her knowledge and skills to take care of sick and injured children. From infancy through the late teen years, pediatric nurses care for the children patients and their families.

Most pediatric nurses complete advanced training specifically in pediatrics. They work closely in collaboration with physicians and other health care professionals to provide the best of care to their patients.

Responsibilities

Pediatric nurses can perform all of the functions that other nurses do: physical examinations, measuring of vital signs, obtaining blood and urine samples and facilitating other diagnostic tests.

Nurses with further advanced training may interpret the results of diagnostic tests to identify diagnoses and develop treatment plans.

Because of the special and specific health care needs of pediatric patients, many parents often prefer that their children be treated by nurses and other health professionals who are specialized in pediatrics.

Children’s bodies are constantly growing and changing, and they react in different ways to injury, to illness and even to common medications.

Since they are infants and children, they get scared easily and cannot always communicate clearly what is wrong or “where it hurts.”

Pediatric nurses are trained in how to talk to children to alleviate their fears and put them at ease. They are proficient in how to ask children questions about their health situation.

This allows a more accurate gathering of complete information to aid in the diagnosis and treatment that is best for the child.

In addition to caring for their patients, pediatric nurses spend a great deal of time educating parents and caregivers about the best way to care for their children and to protect and promote their child’s health.

In the case of children with chronic conditions, such as paralysis or juvenile diabetes, pediatric nurses can design home care plans that will help the family meet the needs of their child’s condition.

Promotion of wellness and health education is a big part of the pediatric nursing field. “Ped” nurses frequently staff community health fairs and visit schools to perform wellness physical exams, to assist with immunizing children and to provide routine developmental health screenings when indicated.

The opportunity to play a vital role in a child’s life, when that child needs help the most, makes pediatric nursing a very special vocation.

Skills

Communication	A pediatric nurse must not only convey information effectively, they must be able to interact and communicate with children which takes a certain finesse. They must be able to gather information from patients that might not know how to describe their feelings or symptoms.
Organization	Pediatric nurses have many administrative duties, so they must be organized and maintain to-date records of their patients and keep track of busy schedules. They also need to stay organized to manage their team of nurse assistants.
Assessing	Must be able to determine illness and injury by different methods of exams and inspections since many times their patients are unable to describe their aliments.
Compassion	They must be compassionate and caring since they work with small children and infant, who are susceptible to emotion and easy to effect either positively or negatively.
Emotional Stability	Must be able to cope with the strong realities and emotions that can come with the job. Seeing little children with aliments and injuries can be tough, so you must be too.
Patience	Must be able to keep calm and cool in stressful situations and be able to handle kids and parents that are going through a tough time.

Working Conditions

The skills of a pediatric nurse bring special comfort to children and their parents. When a child is sick or injured and being treated, it is a stressful time for everyone in the family.

Pediatric nurses may work with their young charges in the following places of employment:

Doctors’ offices
Public and private care clinics
Hospitals
Inpatient and outpatient surgical centers
Acute care facilities
Neonatal units
Pediatric critical care units
Pediatric oncology units
Pediatric burn units
Pediatric rehabilitation centers
Public and private schools
Public health departments

Most pediatric nurses work closely with a physician who is also a specialist in pediatric or family medicine.

The duties of a pediatric nurse are similar to the nursing duties in other departments, although the pediatric nurse may have more direct interaction with the patient’s family.

Salary Outlook

$57,457 25^th Percentile

$63,051 50^th Percentile

$70,556 75^th Percentile

$27.62 Hourly

$30.31 Hourly

$33.92 Hourly

Estimated Annual Salary	Average Hourly Wage	Positions Nationwide
$66,640.00	$32.04	311,320

Resources

Advanced Certification Exam

Accelerated Master's Degree

NCLEX-RN

Nursing License

Title	Company	Location	Posted
Critical Care Transport Nurse (Pediatric & Neonatal)	Tufts Medical Center	Boston, MA	08.24.2017
Bachelor's degree is required Certification Required Licensure Required Bilingual Speakers are encouraged to apply. Experience is required Recent experience in the specialty area is required The Pediatric Transport Team at Floating...
PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGIST	University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics	Iowa City, IA	03.14.2017
The Stead Family Department of Pediatrics seeks a pediatric pulmonologist at the rank of Associate (non tenure), Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor (tenure or non-tenure track). The individual selected will join the Division...
PEDIATRIC HEMATOLOGIST	University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics	Iowa City, IA	05.04.2017
The Stead Family Department of Pediatrics seeks a pediatric hematologist at the rank of Associate (non-tenure), Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor (tenure or non-tenure track). The individual selected will join the Division of...
PEDIATRIC RHEUMATOLOGIST	University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics	Iowa City, IA	04.10.2017
The Stead Family Department of Pediatrics seeks a pediatric rheumatologist at the rank of Associate (non-track), Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor (tenure or non-tenure track). The individual selected will join the Division...
PEDIATRIC HOSPITALIST	University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics	Iowa City, IA	10.15.2015
The Stead Family Department of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa seeks pediatric hospitalists at the rank of Associate, (non-tenure); or Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor (tenure or non-tenure track). The individual...
PEDIATRIC DERMATOLOGIST	University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics	Iowa City, IA	08.01.2016
The University of Iowa Department of Dermatology is seeking applications for faculty at the Associate (non-track) or Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor levels (clinical, non-tenure; or tenure track) in pediatric dermatology....
PEDIATRIC ANESTHESIOLOGIST	University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics	Iowa City, IA	12.01.2014
The University of Iowa, Department of Anesthesia is actively recruiting faculty for its rapidly growing Pediatric Anesthesia group.
PEDIATRIC SCIENTISTS	University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics	Iowa City, IA	05.22.2015
The Stead Family Department of Pediatrics is recruiting faculty candidates for its Program In Pediatric Research. These tenure track positions will support investigators in basic, translational, and clinical research in any subspecialty of...
PHYSICIAN - Pediatric Neurologist - Duluth, MN	Essentia Health	Duluth, MN	09.22.2017
Pediatric Neurologist Duluth, MN PRACTICE SPECIFICSWe are seeking 1 additional Pediatric Neurologist to join our existing team. We currently have 1 Pediatric Neurologist (practicing for 21 years), along with 2 general pediatric neurology -...
Critical Care Transport Nurse (Pediatric & Neonatal)	Tufts Medical Center	Boston, MA	09.11.2017
Bachelor's degree is required Certification Required Licensure Required Bilingual Speakers are encouraged to apply. Customer service skills are required Experience is required Recent experience in the specialty area is required The...
Physician, Pediatric Gastroenterologist	WakeMed Health & Hospitals	Raleigh, NC	09.06.2017
WakeMed Physician Practices is a multi-specialty group with approximately 290 physicians in a variety of specialty areas. Our organization places a high value on quality, caring and compassionate physicians. We are committed to providing...
PEDIATRIC OTOLARYNGOLOGIST	University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics	Iowa City, IA	02.22.2016
The Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Iowa is seeking a board certified, fellowship-trained pediatric otolaryngologist to join a busy tertiary care practice. The position involves resident teaching and...
Registered Nurse Pediatric Intensive Care RN PICU	Bethesda Health	Boynton Beach, FL	09.22.2017
Bethesda Health is a comprehensive, community-based hospital system that has grown with our community. One of the few remaining not-for-profit health systems in Palm Beach County. Our flagship hospital, Bethesda Hospital East (formerly known as...
Pediatric Cardiac Sonographer II	Medical University of South Carolina	Charleston, SC	06.10.2017
The Pediatric Cardiac Sonographer II reports to the Pediatric Cardiac Sonographer Supervisor. Under indirect supervision, the Pediatric Cardiac Sonographer II provides high quality echocardiograms for interpretation and diagnosis by a Pediatric...
Pediatric Hospitalist	Community Health Network	Indianapolis, IN	09.22.2017
This physician will join an employed physician group of over 600 physicians in Indianapolis, IN. Highlights Community Physician Network is seeking a Pediatric Hospitalist to join our special care nursery staff at Community Hospital South....

Critical Care Transport Nurse (Pediatric & Neonatal) Boston, MA Tufts Medical Center
Bachelor's degree is required Certification Required Licensure Required Bilingual Speakers are encouraged to apply. Experience is required Recent experience in the specialty area is required The Pediatric Transport Team at Floating...
PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGIST Iowa City, IA University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
The Stead Family Department of Pediatrics seeks a pediatric pulmonologist at the rank of Associate (non tenure), Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor (tenure or non-tenure track). The individual selected will join the Division...
PEDIATRIC HEMATOLOGIST Iowa City, IA University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
The Stead Family Department of Pediatrics seeks a pediatric hematologist at the rank of Associate (non-tenure), Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor (tenure or non-tenure track). The individual selected will join the Division of...
PEDIATRIC RHEUMATOLOGIST Iowa City, IA University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
The Stead Family Department of Pediatrics seeks a pediatric rheumatologist at the rank of Associate (non-track), Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor (tenure or non-tenure track). The individual selected will join the Division...
PEDIATRIC HOSPITALIST Iowa City, IA University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
The Stead Family Department of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa seeks pediatric hospitalists at the rank of Associate, (non-tenure); or Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor (tenure or non-tenure track). The individual...
PEDIATRIC DERMATOLOGIST Iowa City, IA University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
The University of Iowa Department of Dermatology is seeking applications for faculty at the Associate (non-track) or Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor levels (clinical, non-tenure; or tenure track) in pediatric dermatology....
PEDIATRIC ANESTHESIOLOGIST Iowa City, IA University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
The University of Iowa, Department of Anesthesia is actively recruiting faculty for its rapidly growing Pediatric Anesthesia group.
PEDIATRIC SCIENTISTS Iowa City, IA University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
The Stead Family Department of Pediatrics is recruiting faculty candidates for its Program In Pediatric Research. These tenure track positions will support investigators in basic, translational, and clinical research in any subspecialty of...
PHYSICIAN - Pediatric Neurologist - Duluth, MN Duluth, MN Essentia Health
Pediatric Neurologist Duluth, MN PRACTICE SPECIFICSWe are seeking 1 additional Pediatric Neurologist to join our existing team. We currently have 1 Pediatric Neurologist (practicing for 21 years), along with 2 general pediatric neurology -...
Critical Care Transport Nurse (Pediatric & Neonatal) Boston, MA Tufts Medical Center
Bachelor's degree is required Certification Required Licensure Required Bilingual Speakers are encouraged to apply. Customer service skills are required Experience is required Recent experience in the specialty area is required The...
Physician, Pediatric Gastroenterologist Raleigh, NC WakeMed Health & Hospitals
WakeMed Physician Practices is a multi-specialty group with approximately 290 physicians in a variety of specialty areas. Our organization places a high value on quality, caring and compassionate physicians. We are committed to providing...
PEDIATRIC OTOLARYNGOLOGIST Iowa City, IA University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
The Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Iowa is seeking a board certified, fellowship-trained pediatric otolaryngologist to join a busy tertiary care practice. The position involves resident teaching and...
Registered Nurse Pediatric Intensive Care RN PICU Boynton Beach, FL Bethesda Health
Bethesda Health is a comprehensive, community-based hospital system that has grown with our community. One of the few remaining not-for-profit health systems in Palm Beach County. Our flagship hospital, Bethesda Hospital East (formerly known as...
Pediatric Cardiac Sonographer II Charleston, SC Medical University of South Carolina
The Pediatric Cardiac Sonographer II reports to the Pediatric Cardiac Sonographer Supervisor. Under indirect supervision, the Pediatric Cardiac Sonographer II provides high quality echocardiograms for interpretation and diagnosis by a Pediatric...
Pediatric Hospitalist Indianapolis, IN Community Health Network
This physician will join an employed physician group of over 600 physicians in Indianapolis, IN. Highlights Community Physician Network is seeking a Pediatric Hospitalist to join our special care nursery staff at Community Hospital South....