Should You Become A Pediatric Nurse?
Being a pediatric nurse can be the most rewarding career on the planet. But you have to be strong because it can also be the most challenging.
As a pediatric nurse you’ll be working with children under the age of 18. And while children may be cute and lots of fun to play with, normally, you’ll be dealing with them under extreme conditions. It can be extremely stressful caring for these tiny human beings and many a nurse has started out in the pediatric ward only to move on when the stress becomes too much.
What if Becoming a Pediatric Nurse is your calling?
If you feel a strong calling to become a pediatric nurse then you should know that some positions are more stressful than others. For example, working in a pediatrician’s own private practice office can be exciting because you’ll get to watch his patients grow up. You’ll see them going through normal childhood illnesses, like colds and flu and maybe a broken arm, but for the most part, you’ll just be tending to their everyday medical needs.
Working in a pediatric emergency room can be a little more challenging. While you’re there to provide medical assistance and comfort for the children, you’ll also have to deal with their parents who may be frantic with worry. Again, this position has loads of variety and you’ll get plenty of opportunity to work directly with the children and do what you do best.
Perhaps the most difficult job of all is that of the pediatric nurse who works in the oncology unit. It takes a very strong, very unique, very compassionate person to fill this position and not everyone can handle the stress. If you can, though, then you must be a very special person.
You’ll be working with terminally ill children and their parents and a lot of these kids end up knowing their way around the hospital better than you ever will. Cancer patients sometimes spend several weeks in the hospital, or the may come in for just an afternoon. They go in and out so often that you begin to develop a bond. And when the inevitable happens, well… it just takes a very strong, compassionate person to be a pediatric oncology nurse.
There are no special educational requirements to become a pediatric nurse, other than the standard Associates or Bachelor Degree programs. This can even be received through any of the online bsn programs. Most of the specialty training you receive will be on the job and through seminars.
Sometimes it’s difficult to decide if you’d make a good pediatric nurse. Try picturing yourself standing in front of an injured or terminally ill child and see how you’d react. That might help you decide. But if you really feel compelled to work with children, then by all means, give it a try. can be the most rewarding career of all.