My Pediatric Experience

September 26, 2011 at 6:23 pm (Uncategorized)

This fall I began my pediatric rotation at the hospital.  With only four days of clinical under my belt I have become very comfortable with kids and their families who range from being very easy going to extremely nervous and in need of reassurance.  My last clinical was on a medical-surgical floor, so I have compared many of my current experiences to those on an adult floor.  I have loved both experiences so far even though I have found many differences between the two units.

Emily Hoffiz is a Junior in the BSN program at Oakland University. She volunteers in Guest Services at Royal Beaumont Hospital and is a member of the Dean's Circle. In her free time she enjoys playing team sports and hanging out with friends!

Upon first encounter with a pediatric patient, I have found that when introducing myself to the parents first, if present, I become less intimidating to young children.  When children see me interacting with someone they trust, they begin to trust me too.  Although this is something I learned in lecture, it was emphasized through my clinical experience.  It is also important to realize that when a child’s family is present, the nurse must utilize all the resources around them; parents give a vast amount of information about their children’s illness.  At times, when a child is too young to speak, parents might be the only resource a nurse has in regard to the details of a current illness! In order to provide excellent nursing care, especially on a pediatric unit, the nurse must truly embrace the definition of a patient as the one receiving direct health care as well as their family and loved ones.

Another big aspect of pediatrics is drug-dosing knowledge.  Before the nurse administers any medications they must calculate each dosage to make sure it is safe for the child’s weight.  Keeping a calculator in my pocket is not something I found myself doing on a medical-surgical floor, but it has been absolutely pertinent in the pediatric setting.

Some of the different medical diagnoses I have seen on my unit so far include meningitis, tracheomalacia, sickle cell anemia, failure to thrive, cerebral palsy, and testicular cancer.  Seeing these processes in the pediatric clinical setting enhance all of the readings from our nursing books and lecture notes taken in class.  My favorite part of the clinical setting is when I get to see how all of the laboratory values correlate to a diagnosis.  In attempt to learn and memorize all of these values I keep note cards on me that tell me the normal values for a pediatric patient.

This clinical experience has made me so excited for my nursing future because I am beginning to see the different career paths a nurse can take.  Making the decision of where I want to specialize is going to be difficult, but how many careers get as many choices as us?!