
Can a family nurse practitioner work in pediatrics?īoth pediatric nurses and PNPs can assist with primary care for children and adolescents: family nurse practitioners by choice and PNPs by design. PNPs also have to pass the Certified Pediatric Nurse Certification exam (CPN), which is overseen by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB). What are pediatric nursing certifications ?īoth pediatric nurses and PNPs must pass the NCLEX-RN licensing exam to obtain their base-level certification. A PNP oversees this, and it usually takes several months to complete. After completing your bachelor’s degree-and your Master’s of Science in Nursing (MSN), if you want to become a pediatric nurse practitioner-you’ll need to complete a clinical internship.That means at least four years of undergraduate studies (a time when nursing student discounts sure come in handy!). Like all registered nurses, you must earn your Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN) and pass your licensing exams.Specialization is the name of the game, and several levels of certification are needed before your specialty begins. Helping specialists perform diagnostic testsĪcross the board, the average pediatric nurse’s salary is $75,330, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, although your actual salary will vary based on your education, experience and location.Coordinating with parents or legal guardians to give them patient info.Assessing and logging patients’ conditions.Some of the daily tasks both pediatric nurses and pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) take on include: What are a pediatric nurse’s job duties and salary? That can include speaking in a soft voice, playing games to help build a bond or telling them jokes to lighten the mood when fear is in the air. That means being attentive to children’s concerns, empathizing with them and learning to communicate in ways they find most comfortable. Your mission as a pediatric nurse is to administer care calmly, lovingly and effectively, and to help kids muster the courage to get through even the smallest of procedures (like the dreaded task of Bandaid removal). As a pediatric nurse, you need to apply all your years of medical training and experience but with more attention to detail and plenty of TLC.įor many little ones, the doctor’s office is downright scary, a place of needles, needles and more needles. Because children are constantly growing and changing, it’s a job that involves many responsibilities that call for several special skills. Like their doctoral counterparts, certified pediatric nurse s care for children, from infants to 18-year-olds (or slightly older).

5.3 Don’t forget self-care routines What does a pediatric nurse do?
