What is this nursing field called?

I am trying to narrow down my career route to know exactly what i want.

I want to be a pediatric nurse who takes injections, administers medication, and generally looking after sick children holistically. After that i would probably specialize in heart conditions?? is there a specific name for this?

I would prefer to work in a GP practice rather than a hospital because of the working ours are not unsocial?

I have heard that most pediatric nurses work in a hospital and its harder for them to work in GP practices as their specialty lies with children. is that so?

I am probably thinking way ahead as i am nowhere near the starting line as in UCAS and all that.

I guess i just want some advice and may guidance if possible?

Reply 1

PaediatricStN

12

What do you understand about what a paediatric nurse does?

If you were interested in the anatomy & physiology of the heart, and congenital heart defects, then working on a paediatric cardiac ward or intensive care unit may interest you. There are a quite a few paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in the UK, which range in size and specialist services available. All PICUs will have quite a high percentage of their workload from cardiac complications, though. Great Ormond Street also have a specific Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU).

GP practice hours could be considered unsocial - it depends. At present you would be unable to work there as a children's nurse.

The two areas of nursing you have mentioned are very, very different. My suggestion to you, would be to do some very thorough research regarding the job roles and different career opportunities within nursing. Nursing is one of the most demanding degrees you can do, and a challenging profession to work in and therefore your decision to become a nurse musn't be taken lightly. You don't necessarily need to know your future career pathway now - plenty of qualified nurses don't know that! But you most definitely need to have lots of experience prior to applying, and ensure you go in with your eyes completely wide open to the realities of nursing - and paeds nursing in particular if that is where your interest lies :smile:

Reply 2

German123

OP

21

Original post by PaediatricStN

What do you understand about what a paediatric nurse does?

If you were interested in the anatomy & physiology of the heart, and congenital heart defects, then working on a paediatric cardiac ward or intensive care unit may interest you. There are a quite a few paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in the UK, which range in size and specialist services available. All PICUs will have quite a high percentage of their workload from cardiac complications, though. Great Ormond Street also have a specific Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU).

GP practice hours could be considered unsocial - it depends. At present you would be unable to work there as a children's nurse.

The two areas of nursing you have mentioned are very, very different. My suggestion to you, would be to do some very thorough research regarding the job roles and different career opportunities within nursing. Nursing is one of the most demanding degrees you can do, and a challenging profession to work in and therefore your decision to become a nurse musn't be taken lightly. You don't necessarily need to know your future career pathway now - plenty of qualified nurses don't know that! But you most definitely need to have lots of experience prior to applying, and ensure you go in with your eyes completely wide open to the realities of nursing - and paeds nursing in particular if that is where your interest lies :smile:

from what i understand/ in a nut shell, child nurses administer drugs, give injections, assess treatment plans, feeding and nappy changing, advising parents on baby care, taking/checking blood pressure, breathing and heart rate and all the other admin stuff.

And i know i don't need to know my path right now seeing i am far off but it just helps me to know what to aim for instead of being complacent like most people.

And with the 2 bitts in bold, i don't know what you mean by that?

And, why can't child nurses work in GP's and perscribe medication?

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 3

Charlotte's Web

21

Original post by German123

from what i understand/ in a nut shell, child nurses administer drugs, give injections, assess treatment plans, feeding and nappy changing, advising parents on baby care, taking/checking blood pressure, breathing and heart rate and all the other admin stuff.

And i know i don't need to know my path right now seeing i am far off but it just helps me to know what to aim for instead of being complacent like most people.

And with the 2 bitts in bold, i don't know what you mean by that?

And, why can't child nurses work in GP's and perscribe medication?

There simply isn't a demand for children's nurse prescribers in health centres. Most issues like this would either be dealt with by a GP, or in some cases, a practice nurse. Practice nursing may be something you want to consider as they will do baby immunisations and deal with minor health issues for kids, but a large proportion of their workload is with adults with long term conditions (asthma, diabetes, hypertension etc.). The exact role varies depending on the practice. You would, however, need further study to take on this role.*

There are paediatric roles in cardiology as nurse consultants and ANPs which presumably would be mainly office hours, however, again, you would need a lot of experience and study to take on one of these roles. The best way to get into this, as mentioned above, is to go for a ward specialising in cardiology. Unsocial hours are unavoidable while you are training so you will get used to working them. Long shifts allow you more days off, and the pay is also significantly higher than if you worked in a Mon-Fri 9-5 job.*

Reply 4

Bingobanjo

5

I have a friend who works as a paediatric cardiac nurse - very specialist! He is a single parent and works more or less normal nine to five hours, but of course while you're training you'd be unlikely to avoid shift work.

Reply 5

PaediatricStN

12

Original post by German123

from what i understand/ in a nut shell, child nurses administer drugs, give injections, assess treatment plans, feeding and nappy changing, advising parents on baby care, taking/checking blood pressure, breathing and heart rate and all the other admin stuff.

And i know i don't need to know my path right now seeing i am far off but it just helps me to know what to aim for instead of being complacent like most people.

And with the 2 bitts in bold, i don't know what you mean by that?

And, why can't child nurses work in GP's and perscribe medication?

I'd take away injections from that list - there's a perception all nurses give loads of injections but this isn't the case. Safeguarding is a massive part of our job too, so don't forget that. We also are responsible for the management of any interventions that happen to the child. This could be as simple as a peripheral cannula or more complex such as a couple of chest drains and a catheter.

You've expressed an interest in being a practice nurse - this is a primary care setting where as mentioned you'll deal with *fairly simple* long term conditions - dealing with mostly adults. If managed well these people will lead relatively normal lives with a decent life expectancy.

You've also expressed an interest in paediatric cardiac nursing. Maximum exposure to this will occur primarily in children's hospitals. Most of the paeds cardiac caseload are babies as they are born with their defects, most are life limited because of this and many will spend the first months of their lives, if not more, in hospital, and often end up being readmitted throughout their lives.

There's nothing wrong with considering two different directions within nursing, its just important to understand how different they are. Like I say, I'd strongly recommend obtaining work experience prior to the application process so you know nursing is what you want to do.

What is this nursing field called?

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