Pediatric PDN skills are not "marketable"?

SDALPN · Mar 7, 2014

Hello I am a new grad who recently started in pediatric PDN. And while I do enjoy working with some great ped patients and wonderful ( and not so wonderful) parents, I do find working private duty a little lonely. It is very low key and I indeed finish all my tasks before I head home, although I often feel that my skills will not be up par with nurses who work in other settings. Needless to say I learned a lot taking care of trached and vented patients, NG, NJ tubes, CPAP etc., however I often hear from my former classmates that no acute or subacute care facility will be ever interested in hiring me and will consider my current experience to be laughable compared to nurses to work in rehabs. I really want to keep my PDN shifts part time but apply somewhere where I would get to work with a variety of patients and learn some time management skills. In your experience, do employers look down on peds PDN experience? Thank you for your input! I am a rn working on my bsn and really would like to have some other avenues of career open to me besides private duty.[/quote']
First, its never a good idea to do this job as a new grad. Next, there are sometimes more skills used doing PDN than in rehab. We certainly have a much wider variety of skills that are used since we do RT tasks, reinforce therapies, etc. I had no problem being hired on at a hospital for a NICU/PICU/peds float position. I probably wouldn't have as much luck finding a hospital job with adults as my adult experience is very limited. If you are lonely doing PDN, it may not be the job for you. Many parents pick up on that and will complain about it. Not saying its wrong to be bored. Certain personalities are a better fit for the job. And these parents can be really nutty! So being able to handle the difficult personalities is a skill you can emphasize. Locally we have two facilities that are poorly run, but are for kids that the state has guardianship over. Its basically a hybrid of PDN/facility work. But the nurses get multiple patients and get time management skills. Maybe something like that is offered in your area. Its my own opinion, but I think your biggest challenge is that you are a new grad. Once you have more experience, it will be easier to get hired.

ceebeejay · Mar 7, 2014

Once you possess your BSN, you will technically be a "new grad" all over again. At that time you can apply to hospitals for regular and Graduate Nurse positions. Your PDN experience will be appreciated for for the development of your assessment, evaluation, and intervention skills. And, it is experience. My friends in LTC complain that they really never have time for assessments; just the cursory once over and here's your meds. I am in the same position as yourself and my belief is every experience is only as good as you allow it to be.

systoly · Mar 7, 2014

the short and sweet (or bitter) answer to your question

in my experience yes

for the reasons you've already cited

mainly "time management"

however, this is not altogether a bad thing, because

it seems those employers which look down on PDN the most

are the ones most likely to present unattainable goals

so while it maybe a disadvantage, it could also forewarn you

2ndcareerchange · Mar 8, 2014

Okay, maybe I need more sleep, or this room is hot, but I am not seeing a problem here. I work 48 hours PDN and work at a hospital and Long Term on sats and suns.... not every weekend, but a least once a month. My point is stop listening to your "friends". Look at your goal list, from what you said here, its finishing BSN, well PDN is a good gig for that, I usually have a good 2 hours of study time. And if you are worried about more skill sets, then get a Per diem in Long term, or an hospital they are always looking for per diem, just make sure you have the skill set to say "No" when asked to do too many shifts.

Sorry if I sound short, I am not, I am just blunt and still working on how to make it sound sweet.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Mar 8, 2014

Once you possess your BSN, you will technically be a "new grad" all over again. At that time you can apply to hospitals for regular and Graduate Nurse positions. Your PDN experience will be appreciated for for the development of your assessment, evaluation, and intervention skills. And, it is experience. My friends in LTC complain that they really never have time for assessments; just the cursory once over and here's your meds. I am in the same position as yourself and my belief is every experience is only as good as you allow it to be.

BBM: No, you are only a new grad once.

allnurses Guide · Mar 8, 2014

I agree with everything 2ndcareerchange said, and it's not hot here and I got a decent amount of sleep last night...:-D

Glossyviolet I understand wanting to be challenged by multiple patients and honing your time management skills. If you have a chance to get your feet wet in a job like that you probably should but don't let anyone tell you the skills you learn in pdn aren't marketable.

That is something that is governed far more by you as a person, what you've learned and what any future employer is looking for. I know at least two people whose pdn experience helped them land a job in acute care or larger outpatient pediatric clinics.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Mar 8, 2014

I landed a job in acute care due to my Pediatric PDN experience.

I agree with the other posters who said to stop listening to your, um, "friends".

I started in PDN as a new grad; if anything, the skills I learned from that experience is it helped me developed how to make decisions and communicate to help make those appropriate nursing judgments-you are never "alone" in PDN, so advocating to make those decisions as well as educate families are transferrable skills; on top of assessments, interpreting orders, communicating with providers for new orders, and looking for subtle changes when there is a change in your pts.

Those nursing skills are transferrable EVERYWHERE -remember that nursing is nursing, everywhere, not just the hospital-and good recruiters and hospitals know that, and have recruited and helped shape nurses from outside the hospital setting. :yes:

LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN · Mar 9, 2014

One of my 1st jobs was pediatric PDN which led to a SNF, which led to a pediatric LTC/SNF which led to acute pediatrics. PDN skills are more marketable than no RN experience at all....agree stop listening to your ""friends"" ....unless they are the ones sitting accross that desk making the hiring decsions

NurseNightOwl, BSN, RN · Mar 9, 2014

I am starting a new job tomorrow, and had many other opportunities available, and I have been doing PDN foe the past few months (as a new grad). There are a lot of people who just wax on and on about stuff they honestly know nothing about, they're just repeating the same thing they've heard others say. Any nursing experience is nursing experience, and hiring managers know skills can easily be taught if you've got the brains. What they're looking for is what CAN'T be taught, and you'll display that you (probably) have that by having any type of nursing experience. There is this ridiculous superiority about hospital nursinf being the best type of nursing, or the only type (if you look at various reosurces aimed at a nursing audience), and I'm not sure why this persists.

mind_body_soul RN · Mar 9, 2014

This is just my opinion, but any job skills are marketable. Most hiring managers these days are more concerned with the degree you hold, your personality, and your people skills. With PDN experience you can market yourself as "independent" "flexible", a "problem-solver" etc. Some people look down on nursing jobs that aren't in an acute care hospital. I am still not sure why that is. I was offered a hospital position with LTC experience based on the way I marketed myself. I related the time management skills I learned in LTC to being able to work on a med-surg floor. They asked a lot of questions that pertained to customer service, which isn't exclusive to nursing jobs. I used my experiences working in retail to answer those questions and I wowed the hiring manager. She said they can train anyone on technical skills, but they can't train people to have a work ethic or be decent human beings. Stress your willingness to learn.