New Grad Advice in Peds?!

[rehric00]

Hey ladies and gents,

I am a Dec grad, took boards last Friday and passed (yay!! )

I was offered a position on the peds/med surg unit at the hospital I have been at for three years (on the LTC unit though)...

I was originally under the impression that I was going to take a few peds pts here and there.. Well today I was informed that I will be "The Peds Nurse" on nights.. So now I am like wow, ok where do I start...

I know I will learn a lot working on the floor (I have one more week of computer training, then onto the floor I go)- but what are some things that helped you guys learn the ropes on a peds unit? I know I need to go over G&D, the range of vitals, etc.. but what else are good things to know??

PS- the peds pts we get are 2 weeks +, and not not super sick, they transfer those to bigger hospitals, so basically dehydrations, flu, RSV, etc.

Thanks!!!

[RNinCLE, ADN, BSN]

I'm confused... what do you mean by "the peds nurse" on nights? Who else will be there with you? How large of a unit is this?

And congratulations on passing!!!

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

I worked on a unit similar to this once... it was primarily an adult surgical unit but the end of the hall was "peds". There were probably 6 beds that were designated peds and the majority of the time, they were filled with adult patients.

[paigemarie]

Those are the kinds of peds patients my unit takes for the most part, especially this time of year with respiratory season. And I'm a fairly new grad as well (May 2012), so I know how you're feeling! Take it slow and ask lots of questions. Know your inputs and outputs by heart for your patients, you don't want an already sick kiddo getting even sicker because they aren't drinking enough or aren't being hydrated enough.

Keep parents in mind as well, they can be worse than all other family members when their one and only baby is sick, whether that baby is 2 weeks old or 12 years old.

[Gampopa]

For any of your kids on IV fluids check that PIV first thing. Don't be afraid to retape. You want to avoid having to get another line at 2am when you're the peds nurse and expected to have the expertise to stick an uncooperative 6 mo old!