Scared about first day of pediatrics clinicals

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I am in my second semester. The first semester we did mainly Med/Surg and had like 7 weeks of class before we even went to the hospital. We had time to practice care of the adult and older adult with classmates before we did anything with a real person and the teachers gave us lots of guidance.

This semester we start clinicals right away and we will be on a pediatric unit. We have had any real instruction on pedi patients. Just are told to watch a video and be reading to do assessments, ect on pediatric patients.

I am kind of nervous about not really knowing what I am doing with pedi patients. I feel very unprepared. I guess that might be part of NS though.

Any advice on providing care on a pedi patient?

Thanks

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PEDS was one of my favorite quarters. It all depends on where you do your clinical rotation. I did mine at Children's Hospital, it was a lot more observing than hands on. We were not allowed to pass meds. I bought this book really helped http://www.amazon.com/Prentice-Hall-Reviews-Rationales-Nursing/dp/0132437112/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265155079&sr=8-1. It comes with a cheat sheet to bring to clinical with norm VS and lab values etc. Or just make a cheat sheet from your PEDS book. Most people seem to really enjoy PEDS so don't worry too much about it!

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

Be gentle, be honest, be compassionate.

Remember that kids aren't just little adults... they don't comprehend as grown-ups, they comprehend as kids.

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Peds is the best! It can be a little scary because the kiddos are usually pretty sick, but believe me the nurses are very protective on peds floor (rightfully so!), so you have lots of back up! Just remember to use words they can relate to like tummy instead of abdomen, that sort of thing. If you have to get a BP, I always tell them that the BP cuff is going to give their arm a hug. Always be honest with them. If something is going to hurt, tell them, then tell them that it's okay to cry if it does hurt. The most important piece of advice: negotiating with stickers! Good luck and have fun, it's definitely my favorite unit!

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If it's an older child stuck on the peds floor because of his/her age (I was almost 14 on a peds floor with a roommate who was 8) remember that while they aren't adults, they understand more then younger kids do and to be honest with them. I hated being talked to like I was to young to understand anything or experience chronic pain...in fact, it's one of the reasons why I want to go into nursing my goal hopefully to end up working with the young adults.

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