sunnie16

Firstly congratulations on getting a job in Paeds u will love it! I have been a Paeds nurse in Australia for 5 years and I'm currently doing a post grad degree in paediatric nursing... Here are a few basic tips for u as u start out... Listen to your patients parents! Basic but important. Parents generally know what normal is for their children and they know if some thing isn't quite right with them. I once cared for a 6 month old baby girl who was otherwise seemingly very healthy but had just started having difficulty feeding. Her mother was concerned because it wasn't normal for her baby but our paediatricians were not very concerned at all... After some blood test she was diagnosed with a very rare genetic disorder that was terminal. She deteriorated very quickly and passed away just before her first birthday. So if a parent has concerns listen! It might be nothing but it also could be something serious! Include the whole family in your care! Families come in all shapes and sizes these days and they are generally the most important thing in a child's life. In order to treat a paediatric patient you have to treat the whole family... It's a bit obvious I know but clear communication with the family will go a long way. That might even mean helping an anxious sibling understand what is happening to their unwell brother or sister. I was once preparing a little boy for surgery on his fractured leg... The little brother was watching every thing that was happening. He was looking really worried so I asked him if he knew what the doctors where going to do... The poor little boy blurted out with this scared look on his face "are they going to cut his leg off?!" After a little chat he was a lot happier ?? One of my all time favourites... Keep it fun!!! Kids in hospital are still kids so have fun. Tell a joke... Pull out some magic tricks... Act like a clown (when it's appropriate ?)... Smile all the time and keep them happy they'll get better faster ? Check double check and triple check drugs! Even small drug errors in kids can be fatal. I'm not sure of policies where you will be working but over here all drugs for Paeds patients have to be checked and signed by two nurses... And just because an order is written by a doctor doesn't make it right! I've come across some big errors by doctors that are not used to paediatric drug dosing and have ordered adult doses for Paeds patients. Nurses are the last line of defence against drug errors so be really really careful... Last tip... Look after YOU. Paediatric nursing is really awesome... BUT it's also really really really hard sometimes... When kids are diagnosed with cancer... When they die... When they have been abused or neglected... When a new born is withdrawing because of their mothers drug use... When their stories are so horrific you are lost for words... When you just want to put them in your bag and take them home and look after them... Remember you can't fix everything. And sometimes the hardest thing to do is to step back and let go. And keeping professional distance with kids is super hard because they are just children and you instinctively want to care for and protect them... It might take a while but you will find that point of balance between caring and professional distance precarious as it may be... I can say that there has been a few of my patients that have broken my heart. One little baby was born with a congenital cardiac disorder and we cared for her on our ward for the last week of her life... She was from a beautiful big family from the Cook Islands. I was caring for her the night she passed away... All her family like all 100 of them!! Where packed into the little hospital room singing a 4 part harmony islander song that could be heard around the whole ward when she passed away... It was the most beautiful and the most heart wrenching moment ever. Her paediatrician and a few of us nurses went to her funeral... It took me months to get over that beautiful little baby girl... I hope that's been helpful... All the best for your career in Paeds! Have fun be careful and look after you!!!

Hey Lovinglearning. What a tough way to experience your first death of a patient/pts. I remember my first pt dying, it was tough without all the extras you had to deal with! The emotions you are having are normal for what you experienced, but like Jennt9 said, you really need a good debrief with one of you teachers or pastoral care. Its good to think about the experience, write it down-what happened, your feelings, what you did good, what you could have done better, what you need to learn for next time... You are already a great nurse, your story tells me that. This experience will make you even better and stronger. It will equip you for next time. Keep on at it Hugs and prayers

Currently doing my Bachelor externally through UNISA. I'll be finished end of next year!

Absolutly. And not just because it is the best policy but because it is right. I think if you are not completly honest in this situation things could be worse than if you are honest.... know what I mean? I know this is really hard for you ATM but people respect honesty and they realize that honest people are serious about life... cleaning up... moving on... What ever you chose to do I hope it all turns out good-now and in the future. I'll keep you in my prayer's, really. Keep looking up!

Depending on the facility you could get these hrs. I am an EEN in QLD and I'm working on my RNs. I work 25-30 hrs a week at an aged care facility. I am on part time there and they are happy with what I can do. Casual would probably be a bit more flexible if you need that with UNI and all. All the best with everything! I'm sure you will be a great nurse :)

This is so true! In my first year out of TAFE after I finished my EEN course, I was doing all of the above. In our facility on all afternoon shifts the EENs are the senior staff managing the floor. We definanatly take alot of the traditional RNs role which I don't mind at all but at the same time, with the extra responsibility should come extra pay... Then again there are the PCs and AINs who are doing alot of the ENs traditional responisibilities and getting paid pennies! They deserve more as well...

Hi there, would you be able give a little more detail as to exactly what areas these nurses are lacking in training, basic knowldge etc. What kind of nursing care are they mostly providing or is it a bit of everything? I would expect that they have alot of acute injury type work as it is remote/rural? Maybe this info will help direct anyone that would be able to give you specifc advice. Thanks

Hey everyone! Thought I would stop in and say hi to all my fellow Aussie nurses :) I am an EEN in QLD and I'm currently working on my RNs. I joined allnurses a while ago but haven't had much time to get on here and do much... but it is a great site! with some great people! I'm excited about being part of the nurses blogging community.