Trying to get into Peds nursing but not having any luck. Tips?

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Specializes in general surgery/ER/PACU.

Hey guys! I'm a 28 year old male RN with 7 years of nursing experience. I have worked in the same hospital doing med/surg for 2 years, ER for 2 years, and PACU for 3 years. My hospital primarily treats adults. We have a Peds unit that has 6 beds, but the nurse works on an on-call basis for the possibility that there is a Peds admisson. Otherwise the RN floats in Women's Center. When I worked in the ER, we treated about 15% kids which were mostly newborns to toddlers who had viral symptoms, seizures, ect. Occasionally we got a Peds trauma that we stabelized and transfered to our neighboring hospital that has a teaching Children's Hospital within. So basically there is NO chance I will ever have an opportunity to work in Peds at my current hospital.

I have applied for 2 Peds jobs at the neighboring hospital. One was a Peds PACU job that I didn't even "qualify" for because I don't have PICU experience. The other is a general Peds float job that I applied for Monday but haven't heard back from. Does anyone know what I can do to increase my chances at getting into a Peds position? It's been my dream since nursing. When I was a new grad I was too intimidated to try Peds (I was only 21 at the time and scared to death) My wife was already and RN at the hospital I currently work at, so it just made sence to work there too.

Thanks in advance. I have 2 kids, if that helps on my resume =)

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Have you done (or do you now engage in) any work with children -- such as volunteering as a scout leader, camp counselor, church youth group leader, etc.? You could also work as a volunteer at the local children's hospital.

You want something to put on your resume that says, "I have experience working with children." You also want recommendations from people who can speak to your ability to work well with children.

You might consider going back to the ER where you get to work sometimes with kids and volunteer for some special projects there related to the care the children receive in the ER. Are you PALS certified? Once again, those would be some things to put on your resume to help you stand out as being focused on kids and experienced with kids.

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Specializes in general surgery/ER/PACU.

I have PALS and ENPC from my ER days. Plus I have a 3 year old daughter and a 2 year old son that I am a stay-at-home-Dad to on my days off. (I work 3 12's) I just wasn't sure if that was something I could use as "experience." Afterall, raising children will teach you a lot ;)

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Specializes in peds cardiac, peds ER.

Our peds hospital won't take anyone in PACU who hasn't had PICU or CICU experience, and no one in float pool who hasn't had peds experience. Have you tried one of the floors?

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
I have PALS and ENPC from my ER days. Plus I have a 3 year old daughter and a 2 year old son that I am a stay-at-home-Dad to on my days off. (I work 3 12's) I just wasn't sure if that was something I could use as "experience." Afterall, raising children will teach you a lot ;)

As far as using your experience as a father counting as "peds experience" ... you have to remember that most applicants have that kind of experience -- either as mothers or as baby sitters. Girls routinely take care of younger children as they grow up, paritularly the ones who are interested in pediatric nursing. They may have been high school volunteers at the children's hospital, etc. I don't mean to sound harsh, but in the mostly "women's world" of maternal-child nursing, taking care of your own kids just puts you on equal footing: it doesn't give you an advantage.

I work closely with the Nurse Recruiter at the children's hospital where I work. We get literally dozens of applicants for each job posted. Simply being a father does not make you more qualified than the other candidates. You need to actually work with OTHER people's kids, show the interest in other people's kids, show that you can handle the complex interpersonal dynamics that are involved with taking care of other people's kids, kids of all ages, parents with different cultural practices regarding childrearing, etc. Taking care of your own kids is just "normal life" -- not a job qualification.

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Try taking a PICU job for a year. That should help greatly in getting a Peds PACU position.

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