[peds4now]

I'm a new RN (like, as of today I have a license number!). Anyways, an instructor told me to choose a couple journals and keep up with them, but I have a hard time judging which are respected and good, and which are fluff. I'm also going into Peds, may end up in NICU eventually, but starting on a surgical floor.

What journals are relevant, meaty, and good for Peds nurses?

Thanks!

[donster]

Congratulations on your licensing!!

As a student, I get the med-surg journals; I don't even know what's available in specialties like Peds, but I know they must exist. I swear by Nursing 2007, and RN; both will oftentimes feature pediatric care.

[janfrn]

I second that congrats.

There really aren't that many nursing journals out there specific to peds. It's like everybody just starts out as an adult, with adult health issues! Pediatric Nursing is the only one that immediately leaps to mind, but I'll tell you that I don't find it all that great. A Google search turns up only that one, and the Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing... Now, for NICU, there's the Neonatal Network, which is excellent. I worked neonatal stepdown years ago and subscribed for two years. I still have every issue, and the information is generally still valuable.

[HRM672]

Hi, congrats on your RN!!

I am a new nurse, I graduated last December and I work on a (pediatric) cardiac stepdown floor. When I was in nursing school I tried AJN, Nursing 2007, and RN. I now take Nursing 2007, which was my favorite of those 3, and I am about to try out Pediatric Nursing Journal too. If you go to their webpage (pediatricnursing.net) there is a place where you can request a free issue to see if you like it.

There's also this one: http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/pro...?isbn=08825963, the Journal of Pediatric Nursing, and this one: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/j...39-0136&site=1,
The Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing. That one has a place where you can look at an issue online.

I just wanted to tell you that both in school and as a new grad I have found taking the journals very helpful, even the adult ones, and I think it's a good idea and worth the money.

Good luck!

[HRM672]

Janfrn,
I just looked at the site for the Neonatal network and it looks like a good journal, but since it's a little expensive I wanted to see if you think it is helpful for areas outside of the NICU too.

Most of the patients on my floor, about 70%, are infants, and of those probably 2/3 are either newborns or are a few months old but were preterm. Do you think that journal targets NICU specifically, or do you think there is alot of information generally about newborn nursing care?

Thanks for any input!

[janfrn]

I think there would be some useful information for general purposes in Neonatal Network, but for the most part I'd say it pertains more to NICU/intermediate care nursery than to anything else. And you're right, it costs a LOT of $$. I subscribed out of a desperate desire to keep my job; I was stuck in the temp-to-temp-to-temp loop and couldn't get out. The intermediate care nursery I was working in was a highly desirable unit and the competition for any job was really stiff. The manager knew that and wanted only the cream of the crop, so each applicant was subjected to the equivalent of an 18 page oral exam on conditions affecting the sick neonate in the guise of an interview. Each time my term would be near expiry, I'd apply for whatever was available, knowing I'd have to have an interview. The questions often were taken from the most current issue of NN, so it was a survival thing to have it delivered to my house. Then after two years of that bunk and never getting any closer to a permanent position than I am to sainthood, I made the jump to PICU and never looked back. So I guess the call is yours. Maybe your hospital library has back issues you could look at to help you decide if it would be worthwhile.

[peds4now]

thanks for your replies! I hope to move to PICU, NICU, CTICU within a couple years, I hope the competition isn't still so thick!!!!!

[janfrn]

In the 10 years since I left the intermediate care nursery, things have changed a lot. For one thing, there's a shortage of working nurses now. Positions in many NICUs, PICUs and stepdown areas are going unfilled and being reposted several times before a suitable candidate is found. So I think you'll be okay!

[BSNDec06]

If you join SPN (Society of Pediatric Nurses), you receive their journal as part of the membership. I find it interesting and useful.