Facts About Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
The body of an infant, child or teen is not as developed as an adult body, and children still have room to grow emotionally and cognitively. Pediatric nurse practitioners are nurses who recognize these differences between young people and adults and who specialize in the medical needs of children. Their efforts ensure that children feel comfortable in clinics and hospitals and that they receive the care that is best for them.
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Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Defined
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Pediatric nurse practitioners are nurses who specialize in treating minors, including babies, adolescents and teens. Although their title focuses only on their practitioner certification, pediatric nurse practitioners also have registered nurse certification and licensure. The general job objective is to provide medical care to young people. As part of this objective, pediatric nurse practitioners conduct exams, prescribe medications, teach children and their caregivers about development, order and perform tests, get patient histories, make a plan for care and refer children to other professionals if required.
Education
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Kids Health states that pediatric nurse practitioners have a master's degree in nursing. This means that they got a four-year bachelor degree in nursing from an accredited nursing program and then went on to pursue another year or more of nursing education through the same or another accredited nursing school. Depending on the programs, pediatric nurses may complete internships, research and clinical coursework as part of their degrees. Pediatric nurse practitioners have successfully passed the licensing exams for their state and are certified by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
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Salary
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According to Indeed, general nurse practitioners make an average annual salary of about $88,000, as of 2010. For pediatric nurse practitioners only, Pediatric Nursing lists a salary range of $40,000 to $100,000.
Special Training
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The specialized training pediatric nurse practitioners receive as part of their education or on-the-job experience differentiates them from general nurse practitioners. Pediatric Nursing states that nurse practitioners take classes or become certified in areas such as infant/child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Pediatric Basic Trauma Life Support.
Considerations
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Pediatric nurse practitioners work only with children, so they have to be able to understand where their patients are in physical, mental, and emotional development. Some basic psychology knowledge related to children is useful for the job. According to Pediatric Nursing, this means they have to communicate on the child's level and do whatever they can to ease the child's anxiety. For example, instead of referring to a stethoscope under its medical name, they may tell the child its a Magic Listener Rope that lets them have fun by listening for sounds inside the child's body, or they may point out colors the child knows in all the diagrams in the examination room.
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References
- Photo Credit doctor and patient 4 image by Paul Moore from Fotolia.com
