Essay On Becoming A Pediatric Nurse

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.

Determination and great effort are some of the words that come to mind when reviewing some of the heroic acts by the great nursing pioneers. World War I brought out to light amazing people. There was great necessity for medical assistance in the battlefield and outside the battlegrounds (Nies and McEwen 2011). Mary Breckenridge is an example of the women whom influenced in medical care of the wounded during the war. Aside from establishing the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS), Mary Breckenridge moved to the rural areas following her passion to care for disadvantaged women and children (Stanhope and Lancaster,

Changes in the late 1800's resulted in universities admitting women, thus allowing them to explore many more educational opportunities. These factors together provided the impetus for establishment of hospitals and schools to formally train nurses, with many schools opening for the first time in the 1870s. At the same time, though the need for nurses had been established and the importance of their role within the realm of medical care recognized, there was a great deal of opposition to the proposal that nurses should be formally educated. This attitude was epitomized by a well-known article of the time published in 1908, 'The over-trained nurse' in which the author asserted that nursing was not a “profession” but merely an “honorable calling”. Consistent with this notion, public perception viewed nursing as a job that women were generally suited to perform rather than one which required special skill and was even equated with a religious “calling”. This view, influenced by early nursing's relationship with religious orders remained far into the 20th century.(Lasseter, 1999).

Since I have been a young girl, I have dreamed of dedicating my life to aid others in health and wellness. Nursing, however has not always been my leading career choice. Career options such as a pediatrician, oncologist, anesthesiologist, etc. have been considered in my pursuit of finding the proper career path, but through all the consideration I have never lost my true passion of helping others. Through careful examination of these various careers, I discovered that I wanted to pursue a career that was more personal and hands-on. I have chosen to pursue a career as a pediatric oncology nurse. Although this career with be both physically and emotionally demanding, I feel that I have made the best choice to become a nurse and devote my life in the pursuit of restoring health and wellness in children battling detrimental diseases.

One aspect of nursing that has changed since the early 1800’s is nursing education. There was no question about the credibility of the women providing care to soldiers after the war. For many years untrained nurses and consequently nursing students cared the sick without any supervision. In 1873, the need for educated nurses was sought but was opposed by untrained physicians who thought trained nurses would pose a threat to their jobs (Gary & Hott, 1988). “Nurses have evolved

Pediatric nursing did not develop as a specialty in the United States until the nineteenth century. Before this time, children received very little healthcare. In fact, only wealthy families could afford medical attention. Most children were cared for at home by family members or neighbors used other

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.

“The overall goal for the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project is to meet the challenge of preparing future nurses who will have the knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) necessary to continuously improve the quality and safety of the healthcare systems within which they work”("Graduate KSAs," 2014 para.1) In looking through the competencies that this statement embodies, I have chosen the competency of safety. This competency is defined as minimizing the risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance (2014). The topic I have chosen to discuss in regards to safety is the role that the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) plays in the recognition and the treatment of teen suicide. According to the National Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance survey (2013) suicide among teens and adolescents is a major health problem. It is the 3rd leading cause of death in 10-24 year olds in the United States. In the survey, 17% of students reported seriously considering suicide in the 12 months prior to the survey (Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2013). With these reported numbers in the pediatric population, it is of vital importance that the PNP as the primary care provider (PCP) knows how to appropriately screen for, refer and treat this patient. This paper discusses the suicidal teen and the role of the PNP to promote the

Throughout history, society has considered women to be the natural caregivers of children, family, and community. Women were naturally thought of as nurses because the act was said to be an extension of their role in the home. They were called in to homes to help deliver babies or as wet nurses to breastfeed. In the 1800’s, women began taking care of soldiers. It was then that Florence Nightingale cared for soldiers in the Crimean War. During this time she revolutionized the role by setting standards of cleanliness and reducing infection. The legacy of nursing continues to be enriched by those who continue to follow the example of nursing pioneers. They refuse to be bound by others’ views

Throughout a person’s lifetime, there can be many significant changes that can occur. The most significant change that occurred in my life was to graduate from high school and begin college. There was a challenge of actually knowing what I wanted to do and choosing the right career path. The thought of it, made me realize how much responsibility I would now have when I begin college. When I was in high school, working in the medical field and the ability to help people that are incapacitated has always been my dream.

Choosing a career as a pediatric nurse was brought on by past experiences that made me appreciate the field and its merits. I was taught responsibility since early age. My parents have always been depending on me to take care of my sisters and my brothers. I have several goals which divided in different levels. Firstly at a personal level is to seeking to develop myself until I become one of the real leaders in this profession.

Pediatric nurses get to care for the littlest patients in the hospital — patients who may be happy to see them. Besides, getting to care for appreciative patients, pediatric nurses enjoy to some degree higher salaries and greater income potential than some of their peers. Their job isn’t limited to equitable caring for children; pediatric nurses likewise help parents with information on children’s health and preventive measures to keep their children out of the hospital. Being a pediatric nurse is a exceedingly regarded profession because of its requirements, intensive training, and its wide variety of opportunities such as general pediatrics, PICU, and pediatric oncology nursing.

In 1872-1873, the nursing programs where established. A lady named (“Linda Richards”) graduates from the new England hospital for woman and children training school for nurses and officially became the Americas first trained nurse. While researching, I found that in the sixteenth century, nursing started. The reason is because there was need of nursing care palliative needs of persons and families. Religious people were the care providers. I am writing this paper so I can show my goals to others and to never give up in life. It all just consist of hard work and passion. Linda Richards has inspired me to become a nurse. (http://www.nursing-theory.org).

This significance of public health nurses had made a major impact on history. They help shift relatively unsanitary living environments, diseases state awareness, health education, school programs for children from little or no existence to full swing participation by the community. Public health nurses in the Henry Street Settlement initiated awareness around the country, bringing rise to thousands more clinics spreading their mission (Buhler-Wilkerson). Despite the challenges the nurses faced, they carried on to care for the sick when the sick could not get care. As time went, it became so the visiting nurses were in demand as chronically ill patients filled the hospitals, leaving less space for critically ill and emergent cases.

The roles and functions of nurses have a very fascinating history and have evolved since the 19th century. Landale (1895), in her letter to the editor of the Nursing Record and Hospital World gave us a glimpse of what a nurse should be during that period. Referring to a nurse as a woman in uniform, it gave us an idea that nursing was a female dominated vocation and not to be treated as an economical occupation for financial gain. Landale (1895) placed an emphasis on the characteristic of being a servant and being devoted to service in order to be a nurse who was worthy of the uniform.