Questions for a Peds Nurse :)

pedsnurse72 · Oct 19, 2010

Our techs on the Peds floor do what you mentioned..baths, vitals, ambulating patients, weighing babies, etc. That is pretty much the same across the board. I would highly recommend getting a tech job there ASAP so that when graduation does come around, they already know you and what you are capable of. And if you do get a position, I recommend working your tail off and doing everything possible you can so that you can impress your managers.

A typical day for me is doing assessments on my patients every 4 hours, we do hourly IV checks on our Peds population, giving meds and sometimes being a shoulder to lean on for parents. Something else I can say that is very important and I've mentioned it on other floors....know your Pediatric calculations for meds. After a while you will be familiar to med dosages but as a new nurse, look them up. ALWAYS ALWAYS listen to your gut. If a certain med doesn't sound right dose wise, always take that extra minute to figure it out. Pharmacy isn't ALWAYS right. Doctor's don't ALWAYS order the right dosages. Where I work, we have to have a double check on all meds to anyone under the age of 14 (even Tylenol and Motrin). That really helps. As far as IV meds, I've had lots of help with people telling me how to administer them. Remember, little tiny veins are much more fragile and sensitive and you may not be able to administer IV meds to a child like you would an adult. I put alot of meds in a few cc's of NS and use a pump. Things like that. Also...ask questions as a tech. Get to know the nurses. Pick their brains. You'd be surprised to find out how many nurses love to teach. Even as a tech, watch them. Ask questions when they are doing things. I learned a TON before I ever became a nurse (I too worked as a tech in my dept before graduation). I by NO MEANS knew everything and felt so overwhelmed by all that I am learning as a new nurse. But I always tried to get one leg up on the competition so to speak.

So yes, seek out that job now and learn all you can!!

sophie<3 · Oct 19, 2010

thanks for the information! did you like working as a tech in peds? i have applied to soooo many tech positions on any floor just to get some kind of hospital experience outside of clinicals and so far no luck was it hard for you to find your tech job? i have expressed interest in peds to a nurse recruitor at a large hospital near me and she told me they do hire techs there and for me to keep in touch with her once i have my paperwork completed (letters of recommendation and a letter from my advisor)...sooo maybe something will develop out of that! i just don't see peds positions open up near me so i feel like i am hitting a lot of dead ends. hopefully it will all work out :)

pedsnurse72 · Oct 20, 2010

I LOVED being a tech in Peds!! Our department also includes L&D and NICU so I got to work as a tech in all 3 areas!!! My first love was L&D but they don't hire new grads anymore so I have to wait my turn to get crosstrained. I love Peds too! As a tech it was a BLAST because we got to spend time with the babies, more than the nurses because they were so busy. If a baby or child didn't have a parent there (and it happened ALOT) then we got to go rock them and feed them and stuff. I do miss that part of it. It wasn't really hard for me. I guess it was just good timing. I had already worked in the hospital for 8 years in a different dept and decided to use my CNA if a tech position ever came up in that dept and it did, so I applied. It again shows that sometimes you have to start anywhere just to get your foot in the door. I think what made me a good candidate was I was a little older (in my 30s), was currently taking my prereqs for nursing school and my dept is extremely supportive of nursing students. So I guess I just fell into it. There are days I miss being a tech. I got to have more interaction with the newborns and the kids. But I don't miss the pay :) Don't give up....keep trying to get in there. And keep applying for every dept to get your foot in the door. With everything I've seen in the last few years and going through it myself as a new grad....getting your foot in the door BEFORE you graduate makes all the difference in the world!!

Good luck to you!!!