Children's nurse

Children's nurse job description: Typical employers | Qualifications and training | Key skills | Useful links | Find jobs and courses

Children's nurses are employed by hospitals, NHS trusts, nursing agencies, health centres, charities/voluntary organisations, schools, private health care organisations, GP practices and residential homes. They work as part of a multidisciplinary team of professional and medical staff that includes doctors, health visitors, social workers and therapists. Typical responsibilities include:

• assessing and planning nursing care requirements;
• providing pre and post operation care;
• monitoring and administering medication, injections and intravenous infusions;
• treating wounds;
• taking patient samples, pulses, temperatures and blood pressures;
• playing with children;
• checking patients' condition;
• dealing with emergencies;
• supervising junior staff;
• organising workloads;
• tutoring student nurses;
• obtaining parental consent for treatment;
• writing records;
• providing information, emotional support and reassurance to patients and relatives.

24-hour shift work is usually a standard requirement of the job.

Vacancies are advertised by recruitment agencies, via the internet, in newspapers, NHS trusts' jobs lists and publications such as Nursing Times, Nursing Standard and Paediatric Nurse. Degree course applications should be made through UCAS, or directly to institutions for shortened postgraduate courses and for diploma places in Wales and Northern Ireland. The Nursing and Midwifery Admissions Service (NMAS) (NHS Education in Scotland) handle diploma places, for which applications should be made before the December closing date at least one year in advance of the course commencing. All nursing students on diploma, degree and shortened postgraduate courses are eligible for NHS funding, some of which may be means-tested.

Qualifications and training required

Qualification necessitates undertaking a three-year diploma course or a three to four-year degree course. Graduates with a degree in a relevant subject such as physiology, psychology, education, life, medical, health, biological or social sciences can qualify via a shortened two-year postgraduate diploma course.

Key skills for children's nurses

All candidates must be of good health and fitness, with excellent teamwork and verbal/written communication skills. The work can be physically and emotionally demanding, so resilience and stamina are essential requirements. Previous relevant experience is not essential, but any gained caring for/working with people (particularly children) can be helpful.