Pediatric nurses specialize in working with children and their families.  There is a huge demand for pediatric nurses.  To become a pediatric nurse, you will need to undergo additional specialized training after graduating from nursing school.  Pediatric nurses can work in clinics, hospitals,  and some family practices.

The role of a pediatric nurse is to provide specialized care for children from infant stage till teenage.  A pediatric nurse deals with a vast range of children’s health issues, helping manage patient care, and helping find and assign resources for future care.   Some pediatric nurses grow to specialize in neonatal or infant care to the extent where they are able to identify likely infant diseases, respiratory infections, and problems with normal development.  They also assist in directing the patients having particular diseases to care centers.  Pediatric nurses can also specialize in individualized care of sick children offering home-treatment or in hospitals for children.

Duties of a pediatric nurse entail starting IVs, performing catheterizations for collecting urine and stool samples, checking and obtaining vital signs (temperature, blood pressure, heart and respiratory rates), performing eye exams, full body assessments, administering medications (intramuscular, intravenous, oral and rectal), educating patient and their families, CPR administration, helping apply splints for fractures, and other allied functions.

Requirements for becoming a Pediatric Nurse

Education
Basic education required is a Bachelor’s degree in Science (BSN) or an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN).  There is some pediatric content included in every nursing program.

Preparation and advanced education
The pre-requisite for undertaking pediatric training is to first become a nurse.

There are two certain ways of becoming an accomplished Pediatric Nurse.  One is by applying and getting trained on-the-job to receive specialized training and the other is by taking continued education classes to keep oneself updated.

The most important tool for a nurse is to make an accurate diagnosis based on her assessment of the patient by using her eyes, ears, and hands while using a stethoscope, thermometer or a blood pressure cuff (sphygmomanometer).

Certification
To become a Certified Pediatric Nurse, some experience in a children’s hospital setting is required along with taking a national exam.  Study materials are available with the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board.

Considerations
Keeping up with the latest technology and procedures required for optimum care of children by taking specialized courses with continued education will enhance the pediatric nurse’s speciality.

Salary
Range would be between US$45,000 and US$50,000 in the first year and between US$43,000 to US$73,000 for nurses with a 20 years plus experience. Advanced education is by far the definite way to earn more money.

Reward
A pediatric nurse’s ultimate reward is being successful in reassuring parents of her patient and ensuring her patient’s complete recovery.

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Tips to find the Right BSN/ MSN Program for You

Nurses have outstanding and diverse job opportunities in health care industry today.  Nurses continue to enjoy prosperous employment growth even in today’s competitive job market amidst the recession.  The shortage of qualified nurses in the U.S. continues to provide more job opportunities in the specialized health care service.  So, if you are planning for a recession proof career, this is the perfect time to start your studies in this rewarding nursing career.

Nursing degree programs are of the following types:

• One-year certificate or diplomas
• Two-year Associates degree in Nursing
• Four-year Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN )
• Post-graduate Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN)
• Ph.D. in Nursing.

Which Nursing Program to Choose?

Graduates of a two-year degree and upwards is necessary for a nurse to go for the Registered Nurse (RN) licensure exam. To appear for Licensed Practical Nurse exam (LPN), student has to take up one-year degree or a diploma.

Direct Entry MSN are generally for non-nurses who hold a bachelor’s degree in another field; they can complete their nursing education through a direct entry MSN, and complete the degree typically in three years.  Direct entry MSN give students get credit for having completed undergraduate liberal arts requirements.

RN-to-MSN course is designed for registered nurses who want to receive their MSN immediately after their BSN.  Nurses receive as much advanced placement credit for their BSN degree as possible. This helps to eliminate overlapping of their BSN and MSN courses.
Nurses that graduate with an MSN are called Advanced Practice Nurses.  These APNs deliver health care services which are delivered by physicians previously. They normally focus on any one of the following four advanced practice areas:

• Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
• Nurse Practitioner (NP)
• Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)
• Certified Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)

In general for traditional or online BSN programs have the following prerequisites

• A 2.0 -3.0 GPA (depending on the school)
• 2 years of high school foreign language
• 4 years of high school English
• 3 years of high school math(algebra II and geometry) and science(chemistry and biology)
• SAT or ACT exam; minimum scores vary widely by school

MSN, RN to MSN and RN to BSN, programs generally require the following:

• A current RN nursing license
• Graduation from a National League of Nursing
• Minimum GPAs range from  2.5 -3.0

Whichever nursing degree you choose will have a significant impact on your career.  Take closer a look at various nursing masters’ degree options and learn about what a masters’ degree in nursing can offer, before you decide on a nursing degree program.  For all your nursing degree requirements, online nursing degrees and programs are available.

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Welcome to NursingCollegePrograms.com ! If you are interested in getting information about Nursing Schools, College nursing programs for getting a nursing degree, then you have come to the right place.

There is a big demand for qualified nurses as there are many unfilled nursing jobs everywhere. And this demand is going to last for many more years.  There are plenty of Nursing  jobs at present, but we expect to see a much more dramatic growth in the number of nursing jobs over the next 10 or 20 years.  This will happens as a result of shift in population caused by retirement if baby boomers – thus creating a huge need for nurses to take care of elderly patients entering nursing homes and hospitals. Thus RNs (Registered Nurses) are one of the fastest growing professions in the United States.

In this blog, we will provide  information and resources about accredited Nursing Schools, Nursing Colleges offering Degree Programs in Nursing which will help you to become a Registered Nurse (RN).  We will cover top nursing schools, colleges that offer these degree programs – both campus based and online.  We will also provide information about the demand for Nursing jobs, typical  job description of a Registered Nurse, average salaries of registered nurses and other career opportunities related to nursing such as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA).

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