Extremely interested in becoming pediatric nurse but need more info

justjenny · Nov 19, 2004

Hi my name is laura and i am 15 years old. At the moment i am in my last year at high school, and i want to go to college and then university. I would like to do a degree in pediatric nursing, but no matter how much research i do I am still confused. I would find it very helpful if someone could provide me with information relating to this career as it will be a great help to me no matter how big or small. :) Such things as :
~ what the work is like on a daily basis
~ common shift times
~ if you find this job enjoyable
~ rewards from this job
~ disadvantages of being a pediatric nurse
etc.
Any of these thing will help me, i just thought that it would be best to get the information off people who do this for a living and have experianced this career first hand. I will be very grateful for any information you send me! Thank you :) xxx

That is a lot of questions to answer!!! :)

I suggest that you consider attending nursing school once you have graduated high school and decide on a specialty at a later date.

You can get a part time job or volunteer at a local hospital to get an understanding of what a "typical" day is like. However, you may have to wait - I don't know what the minimum age is for something like that (it may be 18.....??)

I entered nursing school completely convinced that I would become an OB nurse.....but with every rotation I find that there are SO MANY different areas of nursing that I absolutely LOVE - that it will be difficult to finally "decide" - the good thing is that you can specialize in one area for awhile....and transfer to another type of nursing down the road.

Good luck!! :)

Jenny

ADN Grad Dec 2005

laurarachael · Nov 19, 2004

That is a lot of questions to answer!!! :)
I suggest that you consider attending nursing school once you have graduated high school and decide on a specialty at a later date.
You can get a part time job or volunteer at a local hospital to get an understanding of what a "typical" day is like. However, you may have to wait - I don't know what the minimum age is for something like that (it may be 18.....??)
I entered nursing school completely convinced that I would become an OB nurse.....but with every rotation I find that there are SO MANY different areas of nursing that I absolutely LOVE - that it will be difficult to finally "decide" - the good thing is that you can specialize in one area for awhile....and transfer to another type of nursing down the road.
Good luck!! :)
Jenny
ADN Grad Dec 2005

Thank you Jenny

kotys · Nov 25, 2004

laura,

You have lot's of ?'s to answer. Let's see. First as you go through nursing school you can decide what area you want to specialize in. You get many rotations and a little taste of everything to see what you might like. Agter that you can specialize in Pediatric's many people change their minds. I have always wanted to be a pediatric nurse and school confirmed it for me. Things that are hard.....not all are saved but the many live you touch are worth it. Also you might check with local hospitals they may provide share days to allow you to see what nursing is about.

Lot's of luck to you! I hope this helps.

Shannon