Pediatric nurses have advanced studies in pediatrics and can provide a wide range of care to children up to 18 years old, often working independently. They can also work in hospitals and specialized clinics, and advise families on proposed care. Unlike nurses, pediatricians can diagnose and prescribe medication.
A pediatric nurse is both a registered nurse and a licensed nurse. He or she has also done advanced studies in the field of pediatrics, so the primary work is done with children up to the age of 18. Many pediatric practices and hospitals employ these specialists because in most cases they can work without medical assistance and are able to provide a significant range of care.
Unlike a nurse, a pediatrician is able to diagnose conditions, discuss them with the family, and prescribe medication. She may also order tests, such as x-rays or blood tests, to confirm the diagnosis. These professionals usually work with or directly under the supervision of a doctor, who they can consult if a case seems extremely complicated. However, in the medical office, the pediatric nurse often works independently and assists patients without the need for a medical consultation.
In many cases, then, the pediatric nurse will spend most days tending to many patients. She can perform tests well for children, take patient histories, diagnose illnesses, prescribe medicine, refer children to specialists, and even perform some minor surgical procedures such as stitches. Increasingly, many pediatricians have chosen to hire registered nurses to help them meet the needs of a busy practice. That makes a lot of sense. Nurses are paid less, although they tend to be well paid and may work unsupervised.
It would be a mistake to assume that a pediatric nurse’s only place of work is in doctors’ offices. They can run free clinics, work as school nurses or major school nursing programs, and definitely provide care in hospitals as well. They can also run independent private clinics and set up a pediatric practice that does not involve physicians. Some of the pediatric nurses in hospital settings have further specialized and may work in a specialist pediatric clinic such as pediatric cardiology or endocrinology. Depending on the specialty, hospital work can involve significantly more procedures.
In hospital work, nursing professionals can also advise families a lot more. Most families do not go to hospitals for basic care for their children, and a child’s hospitalization is quite upsetting. The nursing professionals who work with these families will try to provide them with all the necessary information about the proposed care, so that the families can make good choices. Due to the complexity of the conditions that can sometimes hospitalize children, the nurse may or may not always diagnose without the assistance of a physician, but they often still do.
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