What's people's experiences on this? Do hospitals encourage it/supportive of it? Currently studying adult but want to do paediatric nursing as well. Would you run into issues with your potential workplace as I'd imagine it gives a bad image applying for an adult ward with the intention to make a switch in specialities within a year or so.
Posted Apr 1, 2015, 10:38 PM UTC
I switched to pediatrics a little over 7 months ago from and adult surgical/trauma floor, and my experience was pretty good. I spent about 1 year and 7 months on the adult floor before I transferred. My manager was upset to see me go, but she knew me and knew I would do well in pediatrics, and didn't want to stop me from doing what I truly wanted to do. I don't know if it was because it was for the same hospital or what, but it was a really smooth and easy transition.
Are you a non UK nurse (trying to avoid saying American in case you're Canadian). Did you have to do a conversion course? In the UK we gotta do a conversion degree.
I'm not in the UK, I'm in America, and I didn't have to do a conversion coarse, just switched over. I got some training on the floor when I started though
I recently switched from an almost entirely-adult career to working pediatric critical care, and I had a learning curve. Everything is just slightly different, even when it comes to the basic stuff, so I felt like a new grad coming up again for a really long time.
With regard to the pathophysiology, I am learning every single day. Having been an adult nurse, I'm really good at MI/CVA, etc. Learning congenital heart defects has been a whole new beast, and almost nothing from my adult experience translates into assessing for postop complications s/p repair of a complex heart. What do you mean you want me to keep the SpO2 <85%? ;)
I think as long as you go into it knowing that you really are entering an entirely new specialty, you'l be fine. Gaining adult experience is a great idea, though; I have found that the nurses in my unit with adult experience have a better idea of the 'whole picture' than the nurses with only pediatric experience.
That, and we are more grateful than anyone else that our patients now weigh in the single digits. After years of lifting and moving 175 kg patients, I adore picking up these tiny babies with one hand. :)
Thank You. Strangely your post is extremely reassuring.
Peds are just small adults, with big tongues, anterior airways, smaller veins, scared of needles, like stickers and come with adults who are scared.
As someone who has worked both pediatric and adult cardiac patients, I can attest that pediatric patients are most definitely not just "small adults."
-whispers- It was tongue and cheek.
Well shit. I need to stop drinking while on reddit (not really).
Never stop drinking - you would be a bad nurse if you did.
Hey, can I ask what made you change fields? How supportive was your employers assuming you stayed with them after changing fields.