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Paediatric nurse

Paediatric nurses assess, plan and provide nursing care for children who are suffering from a wide variety of conditions including diseases, illnesses and cancer or who are recovering from surgery.

All nurses must renew their Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registration every three years.

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

Paediatric nurses work as part of a multidisciplinary team of professional and medical staff that includes doctors, health visitors, social workers, therapists and play workers. Many nurses work within the community, supporting families that are caring for sick children at home.

Typical responsibilities include:

providing pre and post operation care
monitoring and administering medication, injections, blood transfusions and intravenous infusions
treating wounds
taking patient samples, pulses, temperatures and blood pressures
checking patients’ conditions and monitoring functions such as respiration
dealing with emergencies
supervising junior staff
organising workloads
tutoring student nurses
obtaining parental consent for treatment
keeping accurate records
writing reports
providing information, emotional support and reassurance to patients and relatives
ensuring adherence to strict hygiene and health and safety rules.

Typical employers of paediatric nurses

hospitals
NHS Trusts
nursing agencies
community/health centres
charities/voluntary organizations
schools
private health care organizations
GP practices
residential homes.

Advertisements appear in newspapers, NHS trusts' jobs lists and publications such as Nursing Times, Nursing Standard and Paediatric Nursing. Degree and diploma course applications should be made through UCAS; those for shortened postgraduate courses should be made directly to the relevant institutations.

Qualifications and training required

Qualification necessitates undertaking a three-year diploma course or a three or 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. Previous relevant experience is not essential, but any gained caring for, or working with, people (particularly children) can be helpful.