It’s easy to pick a pediatric nurse out of a crowd — just look for the Elmo strapped to their stethoscope and the SpongeBob characters covering their scrubs.
It takes a specific personality type to work with small children, and it takes a certain combination of empathy and strength to care for sick children. Even before a pediatric nurse earns their credentials from the pediatric nursing certification board, unique character development is set into motion. A certified pediatric nurse spends hours shaping their futures in the field, even before they land their first job after they pass the NCLEX RN.
Through hours, days, months, and years running through diagnostic tests, working in doctor’s offices, advancing through nursing programs, earning a degree in nursing – whether it be a Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN) or otherwise – pediatric nurse work involves far more than just basic training in pediatrics.
And it shows in the very best professionals out there. A registered nurse (RN) caring for children is a person who develops a certain aura around them, wherever they are. The demeanor with which they live day to day carries over from the floor to home to being out in public. It’s often easy to spot a pediatric nurse out and about amongst others.
I was intently observing my pediatric nurse coworkers one day at work and gathered a short list of what characteristics pediatric nurses display on a daily basis.
You know you are a pediatric nurse when:
Never underestimate the power of a certified pediatric nurse who has devoted their life to caring for children. Not everyone can do the job – in fact, very few can do it well. It’s emotionally and physically draining, but rewarding, too. The same goes for pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) as well. You’d be hard pressed to find healthcare professionals who are stronger, more dedicated, more resilient, and more loving than those who walk among us with the experience that comes with pediatric nurse work. At the same time, despite the unique challenges, the struggle, the stress, the emotional roller coaster that takes us for rides on a daily basis, we wouldn’t change our paths for a million dollars. Children are the future of our world, and to be able to take care of them, help them, “fix” them, and make them smile is truly a gift all on its own. You know you’re a pediatric nurse when you can read this and smile, quietly nodding your head and thinking, “Yep! I’ve been there.”
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