[MissySN]

I want to be a pediatric nurse. I have heard many people say that it is harder to work with chidren than adults in healthcare. Is this true? And in the pediatric field, what are some good specialized areas to work as a nurse?

[suzanne4]

Every area that is available in adult medicine is available in pediatrics, excpet for geriatrics.
A few examples are PICU, cardiology, neurology, operating room, recovery room, oncology unit, emergency dept, Nursery ICU, etc.

[*PICURN*]

harder than adults?

thats all in your opinion and from your experiences....

its different b/c you are not only taking care of the patients but you are taking care of the entire family as well. So that issue does make it challenging, but at the same time they are smaller and *usually* have less past health issues than adults (ex: older adult may have hx of DM, COPD, CHF, etc) which is less common in kids (except for congenital defects)

suzanne did a good job of summing up the specialties for you....

[nurse educate]

True, all the specialties exist. But they may not be considered a 'specialty' in the facility. Obvious;y, in a children's hospital you have a better chance of getting that. Where I work, the only 'specialties are heme/onc, and PICU and NICU. Some places have specialized cardiac ICUs, neuro, GI, resp, etc.

Harder- some days I feel like yes. Different is the better way to describe it. That 'taking care of the whole family' is so cliche, but sooooo true. Often times the parents are more draining than the kids. Generally speaking, everything takes longer, because you have to get the kid to 'agree' to the procedure, then you have to convince the parent that the kid needs it (the med, treatment, whatever). Then the parent has to lay down the law (or not, in some cases). Situations like this are all too common, and time consuming.

[NE_Chris]

Originally Posted by MissySN

I want to be a pediatric nurse. I have heard many people say that it is harder to work with chidren than adults in healthcare. Is this true? And in the pediatric field, what are some good specialized areas to work as a nurse?

I think it's easier to work with children than adults in healthcare. For instance it's a lot easier changing a child than an adult. The bathing issue is a lot easier with a child, due to they're just smaller and have less folds of skin. The families of patients in longterm care can be very difficult and unrealistic. I've seen patients not treated for condiitions that were amenable to care, and the opposite in patients that are medically fragile with poor prognosis for any meaningful recovery get the full treatment (tracheostomies, ventilators, TPN) due to the Health Care Proxy's preferences. I've worked with newborns in postpartum all the way through the continuum up to completing death certificates for expected deaths in long-term care. I am actually looking for advice on leaving a well-paying longterm care admissions and marketing position in order to return to school nursing (which I love) with lower pay and supplementing it by returning to pediatric homecare on week-ends. There are perks about pediatric homecare, number one the family is often very involved, the other nurses I've encountered in pediatric homecare are great. My advice (and I need to follow this myself) is follow your dream...
Chris

[nurse educate]

Originally Posted by NE_Chris

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I think it's easier to work with children than adults in healthcare. For instance it's a lot easier changing a child than an adult. The bathing issue is a lot easier with a child, due to they're just smaller and have less folds of skin. The families of patients in longterm care can be very difficult and unrealistic.

You make some good points. I'm not sure what you meant about the above one, as in my peds experience, the families are just as difficult, if not more difficult. But I do agree, you have to follow your heart. You'll never know unless you try it.