PALS required for all Peds nurses?

[merae]

Is PALS required for all Peds travel nurses? I'm a med-surg Peds nurse and I don't need PALS for my current job and I work at a children's hospital. I thought PALS was only for ICU, ER nurses.

The recruiter I'm talking to says it is, even for non-critical care nurses because it's supposedly required by the facilities and by JCAHO. (Not sure what that is.)

PALS would be good to have anyway, but I have to pay for it since the travel agency said they won't pay for it.

Should I take it now or try to find a travel assignment without it?

Thanks.

[nurse1day]

I had to have PALS at my first position because we floated to the peds step down unit. Most places that say you needed this is usually the case. It is always good to have but their should be plenty positions that don't require it! Good Luck!

[suzanne4, RN]

I would get it; even on med-surg floors, patients do code, whether an adult or a child. If they ill enough to be in a hospital, anything can happen.

And if you need to pay for the course, remember that you can use it as a tax deduction as it is needed for your work. And you will find it easier to get travel assignments if you do have it, it makes you more marketable.

[merae]

good points. It doesn't hurt to have PALS. I just don't want to be floated to PICU or stepdown just because I happened to have PALS. I hear travellers are first to get floated.

Thanks.

[suzanne4, RN]

Any PICU is not going to float a nurse there that has no critical care experience.

Actually, you should have it on the med/surg units because kids code there just as easy as they do in the ICUs.

Having PALS is not the same as having experience in an area, and you will see that most will not float someone that has no experience in that area. Especially when so many of the kids are on ventilators and have multiple drips.

Not having PALS so as not having to float is not a smart idea at least in my opinion. You also never know when you are going to have your own kids or have friends kids or nieces of nephews around. And they do have accidents, always better to know what to do in that situation.