LPNs in pediatrics?

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Specializes in Level III cardiac/telemetry.

I am a LPN student (going straight on for RN) and want to get into peds. I know that most nursing positions there are for RNs though. This past weekend I was a CNA for a patient who's daughter is a PICU manager and said she would put me in touch with the peds manager if I was interested. She was constantly telling me that I was impressed with the care I was giving her mom and I would do great in peds, which really made me feel good! She said that although most jobs are for RNs, a lot of times they will still hire you if you are enrolled to start in the LPN-RN program.

I'm just wondering how many of your peds units have LPNs?

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Our Peds unit has a few LPNs.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I've seen LPNs working in outpatient pediatric clinics.

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Homecare...it's good for independant working...and any docs etc are only a call away if you need anything....

I have 3 LPN's who come into my home (besides 2 RN's) and do homecare nursing for my daughter..they do blocks of hours..not just in & out like visiting nurses.

The LPN's I have do the Vent, Trach,assessments & and everything else.........it's almost like an ICU in my daughters room because of the level of care she requires........but they are great......good luck!

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Specializes in Level III cardiac/telemetry.

I know there are some openings in outpatient clinics but I really want to start out in a hospital to get a good foundation before going out in homecare or anything else. I eventually want to be a pediatric nurse practitioner, so that foundation is important.

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I am an LPN in pediatrics. I work in a 9 bed acute care peds unit in a community hospital. I really enjoy it. I am also in the process of going on for my RN. I did however work a year of med surg to get my skills up before going into peds. I'm pretty sure my unit manager will not hire a new grad LPN in peds, but doing a year of med surg first was great in helping me learn skills. Once you've put NG tubes down an adult, its easier to do for a child. The same thing goes with IV's and caths and such.

~Kristy

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Specializes in ER, NICU, NSY and some other stuff.

Lana,

Talk to Shannon Filosa at Saint Francis. See if you could get on the peds floor as a tech if you are working while in school. They also have some tuition reimbursement programs.

She is the manager of the entire Childrens hospital nursing services.

Good luck

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Specializes in Peds, OB-GYN, CCU, ER, Corrections.

Hey, I'm an LPN who was hired to a pediatric floor straight out of nursing school. Besides praying my heart out, the way I got the job was to extern in my last few months of nursing school. By showing that I was eager to learn and willing to work I was hired within a couple of weeks. By the way, the best pediatric nurse I know is an LPN, whom all the RNs on my floor have a lot of respect for and even come to her with pediatric questions. Now I'm not dissing RNs, as a matter of fact, I start RN school in the spring quarter. But I'm saying that experience is the best teacher in any field, and being an LPN doesn't make you unworthy to take care of people of any age. Best wishes!!:nurse:

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Specializes in Level III cardiac/telemetry.

Thanks for the replies guys!

I talked again to my patient's daughter (who works at St Francis) and she gave me the name/number of the peds manager and said she personally talked to her and told her about me. She said if she has an LPN who is enrolled and going on for RN and has been told they are good then she will hire there. We do our peds rotation at St Francis, so I plan to put on my best brain/attitude/work while I'm there! I wish I could get on in peds while in school, but I just started a month ago on my floor at St Johns. When I applied there weren't any peds openings. I'm hoping to take the NCLEX in March, so in January/February I'll start talking to the managers of peds.

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I do not agree with LPN"s working in specialty areas such as pediatrics. I am a former pediatric nurse with a Bachelor's of Science Degree. I completed my pregraduate placement on pediatrics. There were and currenty are no LPN"s working on pediatrics. They are now cross training pediatric nurses to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). You need further knowledge that you will obtain through upgrading to your RN's. I also recommend you take the PALS course (pediatric advanced life support.) It will help you immensely with becoming comfortable with pediatrics. I wish you luck and do not rush into trying to work on pediatrics beofre you are prepared, it is very stressful and the more education you can obtain the better.

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Specializes in Peds/Kid-Med/Immun.

I have been an LPN for over 16 years and for the majority of these years I have been a Pediactric Nurse both in the Hospital setting as well as in the rural heath setting. At the hospital I currently work at we utilize LPN's on all shifts with RN supervisors. As a LPN in this field I have made the extra effort to make sure that I am as current a most of my RN co-workers in my areas of certification specific to my role as a pediatric nurse.

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The hospital I work for used to have a few LPN's in Pediatrics(inpatient) but as those people quit or retired, they replaced them with RN's. It was like having 2 nurses taking care of the same patients. By this I mean that the RN had to "cover" the LPN for things like charting, IV meds, taking doctor's orders, and procedures that they legally couldn't do. It was always a pain for the RN as they would have their own assignment and ultimately be responsible for those of the LPN.

I must say that all of the LPN's I've worked with delivered excellent care and had top notch assessment skills.

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