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What does a pediatric nurse do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.
What does a pediatric nurse do

A pediatric nurse is a registered nurse who offers medical and health care for children in hospitals and clinics. Pediatric nurses educate caregivers and parents on the effective methods of child health protection. They take care of children's health from birth to adolescence. They are experts in child care while they are working with their respective families to address their problems, fears, concerns, and other options. The necessary skills for this job include child development knowledge and communication skills.

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Pediatric nurse responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real pediatric nurse resumes:

  • Provide continuous telemetry monitoring and managing multiple patients with multiple high-risk medical conditions, utilizing interdisciplinary collaboration.
  • Manage surgical recovery patients including vascular, ENT, GI urological and neurological cases, coronary bypass surgery patients.
  • Coordinate care for acute and chronic pediatric oncology patients with an emphasis on family centered care and patient education.
  • Certify in ACLS and BLS.
  • Provide excellent patient care to children, showing compassion and nurturing while in office.
  • Function as a staff nurse in a twelve bed ICU caring for patients with various illnesses.
  • Oversee proper treatment is administered to patients requiring respiratory care and telemetry monitoring.
  • Deliver nursing care and assistance to patients for surgery operations; insert Foley catheter if require.
  • Provide comprehensive acute care to pediatric oncology-hematology, organ/bone marrow transplant, surgical, and respiratory patients.
  • Provide primary family -centered nursing care and administer chemotherapy to general oncology patients and bone marrow transplant patients
  • Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) when need.
  • Care for kids with physical and mental disabilities.
  • Assist team of coworkers with resuscitation of patients.
  • Administer emergent resuscitative care per ACLS protocol as needed.
  • Execute medical order for treatment and performance EKG changes.

Pediatric nurse skills and personality traits

We calculated that 22% of Pediatric Nurses are proficient in Patients, Home Health, and BLS. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.

We break down the percentage of Pediatric Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 22%

    Organized and administered individualized age specific professional care to patients within the Pediatric Units in support of medical care.

  • Home Health, 14%

    Home health nursing for medically fragile pediatric population.

  • BLS, 12%

    Certified in PALS; BLS; PPRN (Pediatric Pain Resource Nurse); APHON chemo; CNII

  • Acute Care, 6%

    Completed 13 week assignments on diverse acute care units including respiratory, medical/ surgical, neurological and oncology.

  • CPR, 5%

    Instruct patients and family regarding care of central lines, G-tube, and CPR

  • Acls, 3%

    Certified Clinical Instructor: Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS).

"patients," "home health," and "bls" are among the most common skills that pediatric nurses use at work. You can find even more pediatric nurse responsibilities below, including:

Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a pediatric nurse to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what pediatric nurses do because "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Additionally, a pediatric nurse resume shows how pediatric nurses use communication skills: "provided specialized iv medications and chemotherapeutic agents as ordered, while maintaining communication with the physician provider. "

Compassion. Many pediatric nurse duties rely on compassion. "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients.," so a pediatric nurse will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways pediatric nurse responsibilities rely on compassion: "cared for each patient as a whole addressing physical, emotional, and spiritual needs with compassion and respect"

Detail oriented. This is an important skill for pediatric nurses to perform their duties. For an example of how pediatric nurse responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a pediatric nurse: "refer to job description details as with epic home health. ".

Emotional stability. A big part of what pediatric nurses do relies on "emotional stability." You can see how essential it is to pediatric nurse responsibilities because "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical pediatric nurse tasks: "monitored and provided emotional support, and a safe environment to patients undergoing psychiatric emergencies. "

Organizational skills. Another common skill required for pediatric nurse responsibilities is "organizational skills." This skill comes up in the duties of pediatric nurses all the time, as "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." An excerpt from a real pediatric nurse resume shows how this skill is central to what a pediatric nurse does: "assessed patients effectively and in a fast-paced environment using excellent organizational and customer service skills. "

Physical stamina. While "physical stamina" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to pediatric nurse responsibilities. Much of what a pediatric nurse does relies on this skill, seeing as "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as lifting patients." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of pediatric nurses: "perform physical, medical and diagnostic tests, such as vision test, audiogram, ekg, etc. "

All pediatric nurse skills

The three companies that hire the most pediatric nurses are:

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Compare different pediatric nurses

Pediatric nurse vs. Emergency department registered nurse

An emergency registered nurse is first in line for patients who need a response. These nurses are first to respond to emergency cases such as trauma, allergic reactions, and injuries. They assist doctors and other medical staff in emergency medical care. It is their responsibility to always provide high-quality standards for nursing. The skills they should possess include diligence, attention to detail, levelheadedness, and strong communication. They also need to be knowledgeable about emergency care.

The annual salary of emergency department registered nurses is $8,315 higher than the average salary of pediatric nurses.Even though pediatric nurses and emergency department registered nurses are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require patients, home health, and acute care in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, pediatric nurse responsibilities require skills like "bls," "picu," "oncology," and "primary care." Meanwhile a typical emergency department registered nurse has skills in areas such as "life support," "patient outcomes," "triage," and "tncc." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Emergency department registered nurses really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $77,094. Comparatively, pediatric nurses tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $64,106.On average, emergency department registered nurses reach similar levels of education than pediatric nurses. Emergency department registered nurses are 0.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Pediatric nurse vs. Nurse coordinator

A nurse coordinator is primarily in charge of overseeing all nurses and their activities in a hospital or clinic. Their responsibilities include managing and rotating schedules, assessing nurse performance, organizing nursing programs, and developing strategies to optimize procedures. They may also assist patients and answer inquiries, studying their conditions to develop specific care plans to suit their needs. Furthermore, as a nurse coordinator, it is essential to lead and encourage teams to reach goals, all while implementing the facility's policies and regulations.

Nurse coordinator positions earn higher pay than pediatric nurse roles. They earn a $6,095 higher salary than pediatric nurses per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both pediatric nurses and nurse coordinators have skills such as "patients," "home health," and "cpr. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real pediatric nurse resumes. While pediatric nurse responsibilities can utilize skills like "bls," "acute care," "picu," and "advanced life support," nurse coordinators use skills like "customer service," "data collection," "quality care," and "community resources."

On average, nurse coordinators earn a higher salary than pediatric nurses. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, nurse coordinators earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $80,569. Whereas pediatric nurses have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $64,106.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Nurse coordinators tend to reach similar levels of education than pediatric nurses. In fact, they're 4.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for pediatric nurses in the next 3-5 years?

Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University

Telehealth will continue to play an essential role in the delivery of high-quality patient care. As nursing professionals, RNs must be familiar with the delivery of digital health, including issues such as the scope of practice, regulation, delivery platforms, and patient privacy to name a few.

Pediatric nurse vs. Nurse educator

A nurse educator is responsible for teaching aspiring professional nurses, designing courses according to the curriculum, and organizing activities to practice and enhance the students' knowledge. Nurse educators manage clinical activities and observe the students' performance in actual training. They must have excellent knowledge of the medical industry, as well as its practices, to respond to the students' inquiries and concerns accurately. A nurse educator identifies the students' strengths and weaknesses, develop comprehensive lesson plans, and strategizing various nursing programs.

On average scale, nurse educators bring in lower salaries than pediatric nurses. In fact, they earn a $4,962 lower salary per year.Using the responsibilities included on pediatric nurses and nurse educators resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "patients," "home health," and "bls.rdquo;

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, pediatric nurses are more likely to have skills like "picu," "icu," "discharge planning," and "primary care." But a nurse educator is more likely to have skills like "bsn," "professional development," "educational programs," and "staff development."

Nurse educators earn the best pay in the pharmaceutical industry, where they command an average salary of $94,493. Pediatric nurses earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $64,106.nurse educators typically earn higher educational levels compared to pediatric nurses. Specifically, they're 14.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Pediatric nurse vs. Registered nurse charge nurse

A registered charge nurse is responsible for supervising nurses' workflow in a particular department or area, ensuring every patient gets the proper care that they need. A registered charge nurse has the discretion to direct tasks, arrange schedules, and monitor patients, such as in the aspects of admission and discharge. Furthermore, a registered charge nurse must maintain an active line of communication and coordination among nurses, physicians, and other personnel involved as the conditions in a hospital can be unpredictable.

Registered nurses charge nurses typically earn lower pay than pediatric nurses. On average, registered nurses charge nurses earn a $1,603 lower salary per year.While both pediatric nurses and registered nurses charge nurses complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like patients, bls, and acute care, the two careers vary in some skills.While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "home health," "picu," "kids," and "hematology oncology" are skills that commonly show up on pediatric nurse resumes. On the other hand, registered nurses charge nurses use skills like resident care, infection control, quality patient care, and medication administration on their resumes.The health care industry tends to pay the highest salaries for registered nurses charge nurses, with average annual pay of $68,929. Comparatively, the highest pediatric nurse annual salary comes from the health care industry.The average resume of registered nurses charge nurses showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to pediatric nurses. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 1.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.3%.

Types of pediatric nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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