Starting peds clinicals tuesday! Any advice?

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Hi! I'll be doing peds rotation every tuesday and wednesday for the next four weeks. I'm a bit nervous, because I've got no children, and my cousins are at least ten y-o. I'll be on a 0-5 y-o unit. Do you have any advice that could make this clinical better?

Thanks

Student Girl

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Specializes in Pediatrics Only.

I suggest going through the pediatric thread and reading some posts that pertain to yours.

Peds can be a scary place- not just for you, but for the child as well as their parent(s) who may or may not know what is wrong with their child.

Heres what I recommend:

Since some people have a problem taking vitals on a peds patient, I wanted to give you some advice on that. On an infant, always do apical heart rate and count by 15, and times by 4. Remember, normal HR for them is 120-160. For respirations- I always left my stethoscope on their chest after I was done with the HR and listened to respirations, as well as watched the chest. It was easier for me to hear them. If you do watch for resps, place a hand on their chest and count each resp that way. If you can find an extra stethoscope- the child may be more willing for you to listen to them if they can listen to you as well.

BP on toddler kids can be frustrating, but if you know how to work with kids, it can be a peice of cake. Measure some muscles! Your BP cuff now has 'special powers' and can see how big the pts muscle is.

I also recommend getting down to a childs level, and talking in ways they understand.

My favorite was my T&A kids when I worked on a peds floor (peds private duty nurse now)- they would always come out with the Iv in, and have no clue why this foreign object was sticking out of their arm and all taped down.

I could always get a smile when I explained to them what it was- its a straw :) Since your mouth is too sore to drink, we're giving your hand a drink? Isnt that silly? 99% of the time it worked like a charm.

I have no children myself but cant imagine myself as anything else but doing pediatric nursing. I treat my patients how I would want my children treated, and thats that.

Fair warning though- some parents will not let a student nurse do any type of 'invasive' procedure, as minimal as it may seem. This is their baby in the hospital, so dont take it personally. Giving meds can be a hassle too. For PO (oral) meds, use a syringe and let the parents give it (with you watching), if the child is refusing to take it from you.

Best of luck! Feel free to ask any other questions you may have and we'll do our best to answer :)

-Meghan :nurse:

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