Peds experience in a new grad

[pinkiepie_RN]

Hi guys! I graduate in May 2009 and am pretty sure peds is where I'd like to work after graduation (although peds clinicals will cement this for me this semester). I'm in an area with quite a few good pediatrics departments as well as two "children's hospitals". I currently have two jobs, one in the PACU and holding of an outpatient surgery clinic as a nursing student tech and one as a float mental health worker in an inpatient psychiatric facility. I would of course love to get a job as a nursing support tech in pediatrics right now before graduation, but I have no experience and those jobs are hard to come by in my area apparently. There are opportunities for new grads in peds and while I understand that experience is not necessary for new grad jobs, how important would it be for me to have a job that is exclusively peds versus the jobs I have now, where I interact with pediatrics cases about 50% of the time? Would it be looked down upon that I have experience that is not all in pediatrics or is experience still experience, albiet not actual RN/nursing experience?

[Pedi-Gree, BSN, RN]

I think experience is experience. Some of the best peds nurses were moms first. Anybody who has worked with kids in some capacity will have a small advantage in knowing how to talk to them and how to get them to cooperate. It is important to know your pediatric A&P and your growth and development.