A pediatric nurse provides patient care for children. From birth to late teens, children will be cared for by pediatric nurses in hospitals, clinics, healthcare centers, or at doctors' offices. Their exact duties vary by setting.
Generally speaking, they monitor and identify children's symptoms, notice when a physical finding is abnormal, and make sure the child is emotionally stable, by mediating between children and medical professionals, advocating for the children's rights and perspective. Pediatric nurses are also responsible for communicating with the children's families and discussing treatments with them and informing them about the correct way to care for their child after discharge from the healthcare facility.
Being a pediatric nurse is a challenging, but extremely rewarding profession, if you have the necessary amount of patience and compassion to deal with the anxieties and demands both from the patients and from the part of the families. As children in your care might recover or might have terminal illnesses, being emotionally prepared is essential in this role.
What is a Pediatric Nurse?
What Does a Pediatric Nurse Do
There are certain skills that many pediatric nurses have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, compassion and detail oriented.
How To Become a Pediatric Nurse
If you're interested in becoming a pediatric nurse, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 49.3% of pediatric nurses have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.6% of pediatric nurses have master's degrees. Even though most pediatric nurses have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Pediatric Nurse Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a pediatric nurse can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as staff nurse, progress to a title such as team leader and then eventually end up with the title director of case management.
Average Salary for a Pediatric Nurse
What Am I Worth?
States With The Most Pediatric Nurse Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active pediatric nurse jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where pediatric nurses earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Pediatric Nurse Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | 16,090 | $73,358 |
| 2 | Texas | 12,960 | $68,636 |
| 3 | California | 12,303 | $109,841 |
| 4 | Pennsylvania | 7,329 | $74,588 |
| 5 | New York | 6,810 | $93,153 |
| 6 | Georgia | 6,265 | $62,085 |
| 7 | Ohio | 5,923 | $74,094 |
| 8 | Illinois | 5,723 | $81,727 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 5,565 | $70,456 |
| 10 | Virginia | 4,958 | $66,670 |
| 11 | Washington | 4,763 | $86,565 |
| 12 | North Carolina | 4,747 | $74,968 |
| 13 | Indiana | 4,271 | $60,118 |
| 14 | Michigan | 3,644 | $68,331 |
| 15 | Tennessee | 3,512 | $68,871 |
| 16 | Arizona | 3,448 | $68,499 |
| 17 | Colorado | 3,421 | $65,487 |
| 18 | New Jersey | 3,366 | $86,238 |
| 19 | Maryland | 3,277 | $72,303 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 2,855 | $66,995 |
| 21 | Missouri | 2,785 | $67,414 |
| 22 | Minnesota | 2,508 | $66,966 |
| 23 | South Carolina | 2,376 | $59,295 |
| 24 | Louisiana | 2,311 | $72,654 |
| 25 | Alabama | 2,213 | $67,090 |
| 26 | Connecticut | 2,194 | $70,966 |
| 27 | Iowa | 2,160 | $54,245 |
| 28 | Oregon | 1,963 | $87,932 |
| 29 | Kentucky | 1,920 | $71,668 |
| 30 | Oklahoma | 1,800 | $60,425 |
| 31 | Kansas | 1,643 | $69,091 |
| 32 | Arkansas | 1,528 | $66,699 |
| 33 | New Hampshire | 1,131 | $50,746 |
| 34 | New Mexico | 1,105 | $60,677 |
| 35 | West Virginia | 1,083 | $58,902 |
| 36 | Mississippi | 1,002 | $68,165 |
| 37 | Nebraska | 994 | $60,674 |
| 38 | Nevada | 988 | $84,378 |
| 39 | Maine | 924 | $43,750 |
| 40 | South Dakota | 837 | $56,166 |
| 41 | Delaware | 836 | $74,049 |
| 42 | Montana | 791 | $66,494 |
| 43 | Idaho | 779 | $70,645 |
| 44 | Utah | 681 | $64,388 |
| 45 | North Dakota | 623 | $58,280 |
| 46 | Vermont | 557 | $47,281 |
| 47 | Alaska | 542 | $72,707 |
| 48 | Rhode Island | 445 | $79,439 |
| 49 | Wyoming | 367 | $67,359 |
| 50 | Hawaii | 305 | $84,975 |
Top Colleges for Pediatric Nurses
1. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
5. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
6. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
7. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
8. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
9. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
10. Chamberlain College of Nursing - Arlington
Arlington, VA • Private
Top Skills For a Pediatric Nurse
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 21.9% of pediatric nurses listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and compassion are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Pediatric Nurse Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Pediatric Nurse templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Pediatric Nurse resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Pediatric Nurse Demographics
Pediatric Nurse Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among pediatric nurses, 92.3% of them are women, while 7.7% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among pediatric nurses is White, which makes up 70.3% of all pediatric nurses.
- The most common foreign language among pediatric nurses is Spanish at 66.3%.
Online Courses For Pediatric Nurse That You May Like
This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients ba...
This course starts you on your journey of integrating primary palliative care into your daily lives. You will learn what palliative care is, how to communicate with patients, show empathy, and practice difficult conversations. You will learn how to screen for distress and provide psychosocial support. You will learn about goals of care and advance care planning and how to improve your success with having these conversations with patients. Finally, you will explore important cultural consideratio...
This course should be taken after the Essentials of Palliative Care course and continues building your primary palliative care skills - communication, psychosocial support and goals of care. You will learn how to screen, assess, and manage both physical and psychological symptoms. You will explore common symptoms such as pain, nausea, fatigue, and distress and learn specific treatments. You will continue to follow Sarah and Tim's experience and learn cultural competencies critical for optimal sy...
Best States For a Pediatric Nurse
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a pediatric nurse. The best states for people in this position are California, New York, Oregon, and Washington. Pediatric nurses make the most in California with an average salary of $109,841. Whereas in New York and Oregon, they would average $93,153 and $87,932, respectively. While pediatric nurses would only make an average of $86,565 in Washington, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Washington
$86,565
Avg. Salary
2. New York
$93,153
Avg. Salary
3. California
$109,841
Avg. Salary
How Do Pediatric Nurse Rate Their Jobs?
Top Pediatric Nurse Employers
Most Common Employers For Pediatric Nurse
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | trustaff | $91,570 | $44.02 | 61 |
| 2 | Maxim Healthcare Group | $88,781 | $42.68 | 172 |
| 3 | Aya Healthcare | $84,900 | $40.82 | 25 |
| 4 | Epic Health Services | $77,437 | $37.23 | 70 |
| 5 | Interim HealthCare | $77,409 | $37.22 | 43 |
| 6 | BrightStar Care | $75,978 | $36.53 | 28 |
| 7 | PeaceHealth | $75,881 | $36.48 | 33 |
| 8 | Kaiser Permanente | $74,669 | $35.90 | 62 |
| 9 | Children's Medical Center | $72,430 | $34.82 | 33 |
| 10 | Children's Wisconsin | $71,601 | $34.42 | 45 |
Pediatric Nurse Videos
