As a pediatric nurse it is your job to provide care to infants, children, and teenagers. This is a great job to have and is only for people who know how to work well with children. This means that you must know how to treat them with care and to not frighten them.
Schooling
There are two degrees that you are required to have to become a PNP. The first is a bachelor’s degree in nursing. This will be completed in four years and requires full time studying. The core nursing classes you will have will include; community nursing, health assessment, nursing ethics, nursing research, and complex health problems.
After you have completed this degree you must move onto earning your master’s degree in nursing – which will take around two years. During this time you will learn about the various diseases, how to spot and treat them, and how to have critical thinking.
Responsibility
In a pediatric nursing job you will be required to work with physicians and other health care professionals. Together you will both care for children of varying ages. You will be considered the main medical caregiver for these children even if the doctor is overseeing it all.
You will need to know how to diagnose infections, injuries, illnesses, and chronic diseases. Along with diagnosing you must also know the right treatment for each of these problems. In order to find these answers you seek you need to perform examinations and tests.
It will be your responsibility to work with the families of chronically sick children and tell them what type of care is required and how they can help. Teach them the steps that they need to take to care for their child at home.
Salary
The nationally base median annual salary for a pediatric nurse practitioner is $87,575. If you include benefits and bonuses you could make as much as $120,000.