Pediatric Critical Care Nurse
Summary
Help seriously ill children to heal.
What does a Pediatric Critical Care Nurse do?
No one wants to see a child in pain. Unfortunately, children can suffer debilitating illnesses and acute medical conditions just like adults. A Pediatric Critical Care Nurse makes things a little easier for them by taking care of their needs and offering emotional support during their hospital stay.
Depending on where you’re employed as a Pediatric Critical Care Nurse, your patients’ hospital stay might be long-term or short-term. Either way, you get to know them quite well. That’s because you care for children before and after surgery, during treatments, and while they’re dealing with terminal illness. As a Pediatric Critical Care Nurse, you’re an expert on the equipment, medications, and treatments they undergo, so you’re there with pain relief and a shoulder to cry on.
From newborns through teenagers, each child has very specific needs. In addition to being knowledgeable and understanding, you’re also flexible and a talented multitasker, as the job requires you to move from one patient to another. And no two rooms are alike. In one, you may have a baby with respiratory failure, and in another, a 13-year-old may need a heart transplant.
Fortunately, Pediatric Critical Care Nurses receive extensive training, so you’re familiar with the common ways of treating heart problems, lung issues, and diseases. Because you work in critical care, your patients are the sickest of the sick. So your caring nature is put to good use while you answer questions, explain treatments, administer medicines, monitor vital signs, and fulfill requests.
