NursingTop 4 Skills You Need to Become a Great Pediatric Nurse

So, you want to be a great pediatric nurse? Well then, you have come to the right place! Pediatric nurses are responsible for taking care of and providing care to younger patients, from new-born babies to teenagers. So, if you like working with and working for children and providing support, then pediatric nursing may be the right career path for you. Continue to read on in order to learn about the four skills that you need to become a great pediatric nurse.

1. The skill of building relationships

As a pediatric nurse, you will be working every day with children of all ages, from infants to toddlers and teenagers. So, if you want to become a great pediatric nurse, you need to be able to build good relationships with your younger patients. Relationship building is a key skill that you need to become successful and good at your job. After all, the children that you are working with need to be able to trust you, and the only way for you to achieve that is by building relationships with them. If you have children yourself or are used to taking care of and playing with children, then you could be at an advantage, as you already know how to build relationships with children.

However, if you have not had this experience, then not to worry, as there are always opportunities for you to grow and learn. Some ways that you can build relationships with kids are as follows:

• Talk to them about their hobbies and interests – every kid is different and unique and will have a diverse range of hobbies and interests. So, if you want to learn more about a child and make them feel like you are interested in their lives (as you should be), then have conversations about what they enjoy doing. This is a great way to find out more about them.
• Invite them to teach you about their interests – after finding out about what they enjoy doing, be sure to ask them to teach you. So, if they enjoy painting, then perhaps paint with them if you have the time to do so.
• Remember information that they have shared – if you want to have a positive impact and make a positive impression on them, you need to be able to remember what they have shared with you about their life. Since you will be working with lots of different children, it may be hard to keep track of who has told you what. If you find yourself struggling to remember, then why not write down what the children have told you on a piece of paper or a laptop after the session?
• Tell them about your life – a relationship is not one-sided. So, if you want to gain their trust and build a lasting and long-term relationship with your younger patients, then you must also tell them about your life and the things that you get up to. Of course, it is not advised that you go into too much detail, but sharing a little information about yourself can go a long way.

2. Be open and receptive to learning
Another key skillset that you need to become a great pediatric nurse is to be open and receptive to learning. If you want to progress and enhance your skillset, you need to have an open mind and be willing to learn new pieces of information. Nobody knows everything, so even if you are an experienced pediatric nurse, there is always something new that you can learn and improve on.

So, be open to receiving and even going out of your way to ask for constructive feedback if you genuinely want to become a better pediatric nurse. Also, to gain more knowledge about your profession and to improve your career prospects, it is advised that you seriously consider a PNP nurse practitioner course. Why? Because the knowledge that you learn and the information that you receive will prove invaluable for advancing and improving as a pediatric nurse. So, why not give it a go? While it may be an initial sacrifice of time and money, it will certainly pay off in the future when you are more confident in your role and are earning much more than you had previously earned.

3. Attention to detail

Pediatric nurses have to review treatment plans and medical histories as part of their job. So, one of the key skills that you need to become a great pediatric nurse is attention to detail. You need to be able to notice even the tiniest of details if you wish to keep your patients happy, safe, and healthy. If you miss out or accidentally relay some wrong information, the results could be disastrous. That is why it is extremely important that you keep your eyes open for any crucial pieces of information.

Furthermore, you need to be able to accurately record the information that yomasterclass.com/…cles/how-to-show-empathyu are being given, as this is another essential component of the role. If your patients or their parents/guardians are detailing some of their symptoms, then it is important that what they say and what you write align; otherwise, you could encounter problems later on down in the line.

4. Empathy

Being a pediatric nurse is more than just providing physical care and being physically present. It is also about providing emotional care and being emotionally present. So, if you have not already conquered the skill of empathy, you need to do so. Your patients, especially since they are young, innocent, and vulnerable children, need to feel like they are being truly cared for, listened to, and understood. That is why it is important that you exhibit and display caring attributes.

So, be sure to always actively listen and respond in an empathic way to all and every concern your patients may have. Do not speak robotically or bluntly, especially not with kids. Practice makes perfect. So, if you are not a particularly empathic person, you need to practice being one.