How are peds RNs different?

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Aug 13, 2007

There's no simplistic answer to that question. When I think about the nurses I work with in PICU, some of them came to be working there due to job market pressures, as in the only place hiring was PICU so they took it. Some were curious and want to know if they can "handle" working peds. Some were originally NICU nurses who wanted to follow the cardiac surgical program when care of the post-op cardiac patient was consolidated in the PICU for skills maintenance and expertise. More than one was attracted by the nurse patient ratio of 1:1 or at most 1:2, usually deeply sedated patients... "Oh I'll get to sit at the bedside and read my book" people. A couple have come to peds due to a potentially career-ending work-related injury leaving them with a weight restriction. Some find handling adult diapers, dentures and hearing aids engages their gag reflex. And then there are those like me who never wanted to ever do anything but look after kids. Since I was 10 years old, kids have been my favorite people on earth. I have worked with kids at different pursuits for most of my adult life, starting with being a Girl Guide leader at the age of 22, scorekeeping for a girls' softball team for years, teaching handicrafts to developmentally disabled adolescents, and finally to pediatric nursing. I think I relate well to kids and have insight into the psychosocial needs of parents. So as you can see, there are many reasons for people choosing pediatrics, as many reasons as there are nurses, perhaps.

Kidrn911 · Aug 16, 2007

I'm not sure what you are asking, but here goes.

I went to nursing because of the money, no desire to want to be a nurse, just a good paying job.

I went to peds after working 1 year in med surg. Adults whine puke and poop to much for me, and are very manipulative. Kids are honest, it is the parents that drive me nuts usually.

I have been doing peds since fall of 2000.

JHURN · Aug 16, 2007

I always knew that I would be a Peds Nurse. I think what got me hooked originally was all the time I spent in hospitals when I was younger. But I realized during my adult rotations in nursing school that I just cannot work with adults. I dont have the level of empathy needed to work with them. So much of the time people are sick because of choices they made and continue to make and I have a hard time helping people who wont help themselves. Sounds harsh but I have talked to a lot of peds nurses who feel the same way. If I had to do adults I would do geriatrics or Oncology - those are two populations where emapthy wouldnt be a problem :)

I dont think peds nurses and adult nurses are that different. But usually adult nurses cant stand the idea of working peds and vice versa.

vamedic4, EMT-P · Aug 17, 2007

Alan,

I'm not a nurse, but I've worked in peds for the better part of 15 years and I think it's a combination of many factors...at least for me. I was hospitalized as a child..hydrocephalus. I sometimes wonder if that influenced my decision to become active in health care?? I don't know.

As for working in peds?? I just love working with kids. As another poster put it, adults are way too whiny for me. While I try to empathize, it was very hard for me to do so as a field provider when they drank themselves into a stupor but insisted on driving home, wrapping their Mustand around a tree in the process.

Plus, kids are fun. The atmosphere at a peds hospital is unlike an adult facility. More lighthearted, even on floors that deal with the worst types of pediatric illnesses (cardiology, hematology/oncology). It's the HOPE, and the knowledge that whatever you're doing, no matter how small, makes a difference in the life of a child.

Have a good night...

vamedic4

pedseducator · Sep 6, 2007

Does you hospital have a oncology ward or give chemo on a general pediatric ward? Do they allow the patients to walk the halls while the chemo is infusing?