Will Peds be a good place for me??

MissJoRN, RN · Feb 22, 2006

(here I go babbling again...)

I do that, too! I became a peds nurse (no kids then just friends and nieces, etc) and saw the whole world as a big trauma waiting to happen. It was so hard for me to watch them at the playground! So many worries! I've adjusted a bit but I still think I cringe more quickly then other adults when I notice the play getting a little to rough or risky (I think the key is that I really notice... always assessing... other adults can tune out) Now I'm expecting my own first child. The first months of pregnancy were so hard! I was really worried about everything. Right now I don't do acute peds anymore which might have been easier... Oh, no! I do private duty with special needs kids! There are the kids I take care of now, the kids who I don't see anymore or very often, and the kids in the special needs classrooms with my clients that I really get to know. Add them all up with the other kids I know well- relatives and neighbors and I realized that ~25% of the kids I "know" have significant special needs! So now I see the world as a congenital disorder waiting to happen! I really needed to step back one day while at school with a client and notice ALL the other kids I don't know because they're healthy and it's not my job to know them, LOL. That's a lot of kids! Ironically, I think having my quad screen come back with a high risk for Downs helped me worry less, too! Maybe it was because of the follow up level 2 US?? Maybe I suddenly realized it was truly something I could handle if I had to instead of an abstract worry? I'm sure I'll always scrutinize my kids and maybe their hands will be permanantly covered in alcohol gel, but I think I'm a peds nurse because that's my mindset... not that i got that mindset from being a peds nurse! I look back at the things I did worrying about child safety and SIDS, etc before I even became a nurse, that worry was always there, right? Now you just know more. You won't unlearn that stuff anyway now and eventually you'll learn enough to start reassuring you! Besides, if adult nursing was really your dream you'd probably be convinced your husband/SO, siblings, friends, and parents are all developing something terrible! You just notice kids more because that's where your heart is, right??

Room2Move · Feb 24, 2006

I have to laugh as I read this thread. I started working in Peds about a month ago. My children are in their late teens now, and I keep thinking to myself, "I'm so glad my children are grown, I would have been scared to death had I only known about all the things that could go wrong." Peds is a great place to be. I love it.

kids · Feb 24, 2006

In school there is a low but steady level of anxiety and pathophys is constantly running through your brain. It does get much better once you graduate.

My children had a wonderful Ped who I drove absolutely insane.

There are even chart notes that start off with "Mom is in the nursing program..." I think she was as happy to see me graduate as I was.

soontobe_RN · Feb 25, 2006

Thanks for the feedback. I hope it does get better. I don't want to have to put my children in a plastic bubble. :chuckle I been thinking that since I will have all the education when I graduate, going or not going into Peds really won't make that much of a difference when it comes to my anxiety. Unless, something happens that changes my mind, Peds is where I want to be. That is where my heart is. Thanks again! It's nice to know that I'm not alone.

Trauma Columnist · Feb 25, 2006

In nursing (any specialty), you have this. I'm an ER nurse who just freaks with my kids (and my sons are 20 and 25!). As a parent you naturally worry. That is part of our job, I think. However, it does get better. Good luck.

MackNJacks mom · Feb 28, 2006

I do this as well. I work on a neurosurgery unit. With every new case that comes in I say, okay my kids can't do that! I also find that I love and appreciate my kids more through all the tradegy I see. The night before last I had two kids with brain tumors and another kid who came very close to coding on us. I came home and when I picked up the kids I took them with me to the grocery store and let them have whatever they wanted (balls, stickers, and candy). I bought them lots of books at the school book fair, and told them how much I loved them. If you love kids peds will definately be the place for you!! I say enjoy your kids and live every day as if it could be your or their last, and live your life with nothing but love in your heart.

soontobe_RN · Mar 1, 2006

I do this as well. I work on a neurosurgery unit. With every new case that comes in I say, okay my kids can't do that! I also find that I love and appreciate my kids more through all the tradegy I see. The night before last I had two kids with brain tumors and another kid who came very close to coding on us. I came home and when I picked up the kids I took them with me to the grocery store and let them have whatever they wanted (balls, stickers, and candy). I bought them lots of books at the school book fair, and told them how much I loved them. If you love kids peds will definately be the place for you!! I say enjoy your kids and live every day as if it could be your or their last, and live your life with nothing but love in your heart.

Thank you! That was so beautifully put. I give you all the credit in the world to work on that unit. Today in clinical we toured the Special Care Nursery. Next Tuesday, I am scheduled to spend the day in there with one other student. After the tour the other student said she really doesn't want to go back. In a way I can understand. It brought tears to my eyes seeing all of these tiny sick babies. I think what really bothered me was that when my 2nd child was born he spent his 1st 13 days of his life in there. I saw the very same cubby area where he was. It brought back all of those memories, all of that pain and angiush of seeing my son with heart monitors, respiratory monitors, and even a feeding tube in his nose. I remembered how hard it was on both my husband and myself. How my oldest, who was 3 y.o. at the time, didn't understand why his baby brother wasn't coming home and why mommy spent so much time at the hospital. After I thought about all of this today, it then dawned on me that this is one of the reasons why I wanted to be in Peds, to help those babies families in their time of need. To top off my day, I watched a birth of a healthy baby girl. You are right, life is so precious. It is easy to get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of daily life. We need to remember what is important to us, and for me, it is my family. As I am typing this my 3y.o(who spent the time in the special care nursery) is sleeping beside me. I am fortuante that he never had any serious complications that were long term, But for those babies that do, I want to be there for them and their familes. Again, thank you!