Any pediatric pearls of wisdom?

PeakRN · Jul 16, 2019

If you look through the pediatric specialty area you will find tons of very helpful advice.

I think the biggest thing that I think gets missed is to be honest and genuine with the kids, and talk to them not at them. Once you lose a kid's trust it is gone and you aren't going to get it back.

DinasaurRN · Jul 17, 2019

Thank you for that pearl! It makes so much sense but sometimes I get nervous to be extremely honest because I don't want to scare them. It's good to hear confirmation from an experienced RN that it really is important for me to get over my fear of scaring them with too much information.

And thank you so much for telling me there is a whole section dedicated to peds! I am new to this site and I have a lot of reading to do now ?

JadedCPN, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2019

I've been doing peds for all of my career over 13 years, and I absolutely love it.

The worst part about peds is actually dealing with difficult parents. But at the same time 9.9 times out of 10, the parents knows their child the best so listen to them.

If your facility has ancillary support, such as Child Life, use them as much as you can especially for procedures, IV placement, scans, etc.

Never forget your stages of development from nursing school so that you can approach each age group in different ways that are appropriate and make simple things like giving oral medications smoother.

Speaking of giving oral medications...when all else fails, push the liquid med in their mouth, pinch their nose, and blow into their mouth - sounds (and looks) absolutely torturous, but sometimes it is the only way to get them that very necessary med.

Lastly, remember that kids of almost all ages are extremely smart and in tune with their bodies. They may not understand exactly what is going on, but they know something is off and different. Respect that they know their bodies, no matter their age.

jess.mont, ADN, RN · Jul 18, 2019

I've done one peds rotation, so I know very little about working with our youngest patient's, but we had a sign posted by Child Life in our staff bathroom that reminded us that children are not pets. Do not pet or stroke them unnecessarily in an attempt to comfort them or gain their trust. I certainly held small babies and toddlers during procedures, but I was more aware of older children's physical space and needs. If they need comfort, they will seek it. I thought this was an interesting perspective and a bit counterintuitive to me at first. Good luck at your new job!

PeakRN · Jul 18, 2019

5 hours ago, jess.mont said:
I've done one peds rotation, so I know very little about working with our youngest patient's, but we had a sign posted by Child Life in our staff bathroom that reminded us that children are not pets. Do not pet or stroke them unnecessarily in an attempt to comfort them or gain their trust. I certainly held small babies and toddlers during procedures, but I was more aware of older children's physical space and needs. If they need comfort, they will seek it. I thought this was an interesting perspective and a bit counterintuitive to me at first. Good luck at your new job!

I would take that with a grain of salt. Many kids respond well to physical touch but it really depends on the situation and the individual kid. Kids on the autism spectrum, PDD, or other sensory processing disorders often respond very well to therapeutic touch, although many of those kids definetly don't.

Often our sedated/intubated kids (teens included) respond very well physical contact when calming or talking to them.

Kids can also sense when it's faked or just plain weird. Keep in mind that the real world is not like a textbook and even "normal" kids don't necessarily follow the development milestones or psychosocial norms that you are taught in school.