Thinking of applying to Peds... questions

[haunani, BSN, RN]

I'm currently on an Ortho/Neuro unit at my hospital and have been for a little over a year. My ultimate goal is to move to post-partum, but that unit has VERY rare openings, so who knows how long it could take to make that jump.

There's currently an opening on the Peds unit, the first I've seen since I started here. It would put me in close contact with the PP unit and staff and possibly be a way to get my foot in the door for an eventual move there, at least moreso than being on Ortho/Neuro.

My main question is this... what are some of the main cons to working on a Peds unit as opposed to an adult unit? We didn't really have a Peds time in school, so I didn't really get a lot of exposure to it. I'm not a mother myself yet, so I can't relate personal experience here, either. (Though I will be soon... due in November.)

I guess I'm just not sure what to really expect and what the big differences would be. Then again, it could be the pregnancy clouding my brain, too.

[A&OxNone, MSN, RN]

Well, as far as "cons" go, I think the depends on the size of your peds unit and what kind of patients they see. If it's a small, itty bitty part of a hallway, I would say the con would be that you may actually be limited to what diagnosis you will see. Any child thats majorly sick will be sent to a bigger unit or a children's hospital. On the other hand, if its a good size and gets different kinds of patients, I would say there isn't any cons. Its just a totally different world. It would be like switching from cardiac to ortho... Its just really hard to compare because it's a different skill set all together (feeds, diapers, cap refills, parents...)

I will also say I think pediatrics is difficult for people that aren't thrilled about kids. Sometimes be awesome, sometimes heartbreaking. Good luck to you!

[LJ85, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN]

You must think outside the box lol. Kids don't just sit nice and calm when you have to do a procedure or give meds, it's a struggle but if you try to distract them it helps.

[tryingtohaveitall]

Dealing with the parents/family is as much a part of pediatrics as dealing with the patient. I do think it's more personal being a pediatric nurse when you have children. The sad cases hit close to home, especially when they remind you of one of your own children.