A Career as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

A nationwide shortage of physicians in the mid-1960s gave way to the development of the nation’s first master’s degree curriculum in Nurse Practitioner at the University of Colorado’s School of Nursing in 1965 (Egenes & Burgess, 2001). The nurse practitioner movement was greatly influenced by the social movements of the 1960s and 70s, including the women’s and civil rights movements. By the 1970s, nurse practitioner preparation increased in graduate programs nationwide and the provision of primary care by nurse practitioners became widely accepted. Women of various racial and ethnic groups were finally allowed entry into nursing education programs after the Nurse Training Acts of 1975 and 1980. The physician shortages of the 1970s became a surplus in the 1980s, and Nurse Practitioners and APNs felt the need to increase scientific rigor to establish their continued value as PCPs (Frellick, 2011). In 1993, The American College of Nurse Practitioners was formed to further lobby and advocate for the needs of Nurse Practitioners (Egenes & Burgess, 2001).

Many years ago I chose my studies to begin a career in the medical field. My original goal was to become a Pediatrician. However, at the end of my bachelor’s degree and after many hours spent volunteering at Miami Children’s Hospital, I decided that I wanted a career that would give me more patient provider interaction. I spoke with several doctors, nurses, and other health care providers and decided the best career for me was a Nurse Practitioner. I still have not decided on a specialty but I feel that path will come naturally with

For my career path, I chose to be a Pediatric Nurse. I chose to be a Pediatric Nurse , because on this job , you have to have a positive attitude , you get to stay active, and I enjoy working with kids and infants. Nurses also get an everyday challenge and continue learning throughout their career, which makes it even more attempting and interesting.

Pediatric nursing is an important profession to us today. They devote their knowledge and skills to caring for children from infancy through the late teen years. Pediatric nursing does not just give you the opportunity to work with children, but with their families as well. I was inspired to become a pediatric nurse when I was younger. I remember when my little sister had to go to Kids First Pediatric to get a flu shot, my sister was so terrified of the needle she began to cry and try to move away from the nurse. In order for the nurse to calm my sister down she started making my sister laugh by playing peek-a-boo with her so that my sister could get her mind off of the needle. Once my sister was no longer thinking about the needle the nurse told my sister to count with her and on the count of three the nurse gave my sister the flu shot without my sister even noticing it. I found it so unique how a nurse could be playful with kids when they’re scared. I like working with kids so I know that this particular field is perfect for me.

I have had a passion for becoming a healthcare provider for children for quite a while (for a long time). Children are one of the most important individuals of society because they are the future and will one day be in charge of the world. Their health at a young age is indicative to how their health will be as adults. Childhood has a great effect on how a person turns out to be so I hope to help children I hope to use prevention and education to preserve and restore the health of my patients. My career goals are to prevent children from having to spend time in hospitals or in pain and to help them live out their life and dreams to the fullest extent. Children play a very large role in their families, and when a child becomes sick, the whole family becomes distressed. Pediatricians not only heal children, but they help and prevent a family from suffering. I love medicine and children, and I hope to combine these two passions by becoming a pediatrician.

Loretta Ford, is commonly known as the pioneer of the nurse practitioner role. The NP role was shaped by Ford, in collaboration with pediatrician Henry K. Silver in 1965, in response to the need for providers for well-child care, in community based settings (Zaccagnini & Waud White, 2017). Though many texts, Zaccagnini included, cite a physician shortage as the impetus for the creation of the role, Ford herself disputes the emphasis on this shortage, as one of several “myths” many of which continue to influence the NP movement (Towers, 2011). This creates a view of NPs as “physician extenders” or substitutes for physicians, and diminishes the role of the NP (Sullivan-Marx et al., 2007). The creation of the NP was in conjunction with nursing leadership, who were focused on creating graduate nurses for clinical specialization (Towers, 2011). The lack of providers simply created an opportunistic environment for nurses to reclaim the role that public health nurses had historically held, focusing on wellness, health promotion and disease prevention (Zaccagnini & Waud White, 2017). The first NPs were certified in the area of pediatrics, but soon began to develop focus on other populations, such as whole families, gerontology, women’s health, or psychiatry.

A pediatric nurse would be the career for me because I work well with children and I find that helping children makes me happy. Being a pediatric nurse has many duties and personal characteristics needed; such as working with children and getting along with them easily. Being a pediatric nurse also requires many years of studying and also many costs, but in the end the wages and benefits make up for it. The work setting and employment outlook are looking good for the upcoming years. Having a career as a pediatric nurse requires a lot of responsibilities and duties but I feel that because I am hard working and easily get along with children this would be the right career for me.

Children get injured or sick every day, and it doesn’t matter whether the child goes to a doctor or a pediatrician they are still tended to by a pediatric nurse. A pediatric nurse has to have many qualities. They also have to take many different classes. A pediatric nurse’s pay can vary from location to location depending on where they are working. Pediatric nurses must endure many different things to make it into this particular work field, and have many different qualities.

My name is Kristen Simoneaux, and I am a Sophomore here at Lamar University. I am from Nederland Texas, and I graduated from Nederland High School in 2013. I have lived in Nederland all of my life, and I continue to live here. I am going to Lamar University because it is close to home, and it has an excellent nursing program. My major is nursing, and I plan to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in May 2017. I am applying to the nursing program for the Fall of 2015, and I will spend two years in the nursing program. After I graduate, I plan to get my Masters degree and then hopefully my PhD to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. I have been dancing for sixteen years at Keely Jardell’s School of Dance in Nederland Texas, and I am currently an assistant teacher there. I have been assisting for two years. I am also on the Lamar University Dance Team and have been on it for two years. This year, I am one of five officers. The Dance Team performs at all of the Lamar home football and basketball games and puts on an annual Spring show. We also do numerous community service hours.

Healthcare in the United States in the 1950’s and 1960’s experienced an upheaval with the expanded availability of the Medicare and Medicaid programs and the increased specialization of medicine. The shortage in providing health care coverage to low-income women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities gave clinically experienced nurses the opportunity to fill the primary care void. This was accomplished with the introduction of the first Nurse Practitioner program. The NP program was co-created in 1965 by a nurse educator, Loretta Ford, EdD, RN, PNP, and a physician, Henry Silver, MD, at the University of Colorado as a non-degree

Sara Moss-Wolfe once said "Nurses — one of the few blessings of being ill." After much research and thought, I decided that I wanted to be a pediatric nurse practitioner. For the most part "Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, also referred to as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), coordinate patient care and they may provide primary and specialty health care (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,2014). Pediatric Practitioners are responsible for recording or patient medical history, performing exams, conduct research, and giving patients medical treatments because it gives me an opportunity to research specific illnesses

f I could pick any career it would be a Pediatrician Nurse Practitioner for an Oncologist. Growing up I wanted to be what every other kid wanted to be: doctor, lawyer, princess and the list goes on. As I got into High School I found myself interested in a lot of the medical classes. My freshman year I was in Introduction to Health Science which lead me to join HOSA. I fell in love with the thought of helping others. My junior year I was involved in a clinical rotation where one hour a day I would go to the hospital and sit in on surgeries, comfort patients, do coffee runs and anything else I could get my hands on. Now going into my senior year I am going to have an internship for a Pediatric Oncologist in Rockwall. This is going to help me

In 1965 the first Nurse Practitioner (NP) training program was created by a physician Henry Silver and a nurse Loretta Ford. There was a shortage of primary care physicians due to increased specializations in medicine. The shortages were very evident in rural areas and the creators of the program realized nurses had the potential to fill the primary care gap within their communities. This NP training was informal and lacked credentials, leading to criticism and mistrust of those providing care. The first master’s program for NP was established by Boston College in 1967.

Between the mid1960’s to 80’s, physicians collaborated with nurses who had clinical experience and those who were interested in obtaining experience. In 1965, low-income women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities were covered under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. This sudden availability of coverage increased the demand for expanded primary care services, but physicians were unable to meet this demand, so nurses who were qualified to expand their roles and meet the demand of the growing need of primary care services, where available to take on the responsibility of providing care. (O’Bryan, 2003) Today, the Advanced nursing roles has expanded.

The career that I had in mind when I first began college was one in counseling pediatrician. This career would be one that interests me with being with children. Even though I have been thinking about other careers this one still sticks with me that I want to do.