Pediatric Nursing Career Essay

Being a junior in High School I am frequently asked the question what career I want to pursue. I have many ambitions and passions but the career field I would most imagine myself being in, is Pediatric Nursing. I love helping, caring and providing for people and children in need of help. Being a Pediatric Nurse is not just caring for patients but is also educating parents about their child’s health. Helping someone and their family everyday would be the highlight of my life! I love making people happy and seeing the smiles and laughs of children.

Most Pediatric Nurses work in doctor’s offices, hospitals, surgical centers, schools, clinics and other healthcare facilities. Skills that are strongly recommended for this occupation would be

communication, patience, trustworthiness, good under pressure and natural ability to connect with children. Pediatric Nurses work with children from infancy to young adulthood providing them with development screenings, vital sign intake and common illnesses diagnosis and treatment. These nurses are trained to figure out the problem by communicating with the child and providing the treatment. They work together with Pediatricians and family doctors to prevent disease and illness for their patients.

Depending on the nurses level of education, experience, location and the type of facility they work in, the average salary is $48,000 to $68,000 a year. Experienced nurses can earn up to $100,000 a year or even more.

Educational requirements include certification as a Registered Nurse (RN) ; Bachelor degree of Science in Nursing at a four-year college, a High School diploma or Associate’s degree are required.

Early Childhood Development classes and any volunteer work or working in a child-center daycare or school is recommend. After graduation, there is a national licensing examination that nurses are required to pass, called the NCLEX-RN to practice Registered Nursing. You can receive your RN degree at any four year accredited college. Local colleges such as Armstrong University, Mercer University, Georgia Southern have great nursing programs. As of 2013, there were 2,661,890 Pediatric Nurses in the United States. A rising job growth, now 22% is estimated from 2012 - 2020.

Typically in pediatrics, there is diversity between the age groups that you come into contact with like: newborns, infants, toddlers, school-age children and adolescents. Each group has different treatment, which adds variety to the day. My neighbor is a Pediatric Nurse and she tells me some of the things that she goes through or has to do during her day. She loves her job and she tells me that I would be a great nurse because of how she sees me work with her kids and how much I care for

them.