As a pediatric nurse practitioner, each patient you care for is yet one more reason to love your job. But for anyone currently considering a transition into a pediatric nursing career, we’ve rounded up 10 great reasons why we think you’ll love being a nurse for children.
1. Make Kids No. 1
For pediatric nurse practitioners, it’s children who give the job life. So, if you enjoy, respect, and care about children—from newborns to teens, and the in-betweens—you’ll love being a pediatric nurse practitioner.
2. Give Children a Voice
Your pediatric nursing skills and affinity for children can make you an effective advocate for children, some of the most vulnerable patients in any healthcare setting, particularly those who are too young to speak or effectively communicate their needs. Some pediatric nurse practitioners are advocates within the legal system for children who have been abused or experienced other trauma.
3. Support Families
In most healthcare settings, pediatric nurse practitioners serve as vital links between medical professionals and young patients and their families. Parents and other caregivers look to pediatric nurse practitioners for information, guidance, and compassionate support. While circumstances sometimes make this a very difficult task, pediatric nurse practitioners appreciate this singular and important role they play and strive to connect with families in effective and meaningful ways.
4. Use Your Superpower
Is preventive care your passion? Do you excel when working in critical care or emergency room settings? Are you ready to lead? As the Institute of Pediatric Nursing (IPN) asks, “What’s your superpower?”1 There are numerous pediatric nurse practitioner career paths that allow you to leverage your skills, interests, and “superpowers” to make one of them your own.
5. Find Variety
With pediatric nursing jobs available in a variety of healthcare settings, you can choose a location that best suits your goals. Pediatric nurse practitioners launch careers in settings that include home health care, free-standing children’s hospitals or children’s hospitals associated with major medical centers, outpatient primary and specialty care centers, and schools.2
6. Provide Continuity
Building relationships is another satisfying aspect of pediatric nursing. As a nurse practitioner in a pediatrics practice, you may meet a patient on her first well-baby visit, when she’s just a few days old, and remain part of her healthcare team well into the teen years. In some cases, pediatric nurse practitioners may continue to work with patients who have chronic conditions, like cystic fibrosis, into early adulthood.3
7. Look for Job Growth
The job outlook for nurse practitioners is bright, and with a degree from an online pediatric nurse practitioner program, you may find plenty of opportunities in this expanding field. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment for nurse practitioners to grow 52% through 2029, much faster than the national average.4 Experts say the demand for RNs will grow through 2029, too. By then, as many as 221,900 additional nurses5 may be working in the field. And as a nurse for children, you may be one of them.
8. Earn Competitive Pay
The annual median compensation for nurse practitioners is $109,820;4 for RNs, it’s $73,300.5 Both salary levels are well above the median wage for all workers, which is $39,810.4 And according to IPN, pediatric nurses stepping into leadership roles, like chief nursing officer, can command even higher salaries.1 Of course, compensation varies based on factors like experience, job scope, and the size of the healthcare organization.
9. Find Job Satisfaction
Nurse practitioner is one of the best jobs in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report, which ranks it third in a list of the top 100.6 IPN says job satisfaction for pediatric nurse practitioners stems in part from the amount of independence they enjoy:7 “Pediatric nurse practitioners have a graduate degree to diagnose, treat, and prescribe. They can even practice solo. They often enjoy greater autonomy than other pediatric nursing roles.”1
10. Continue Your Education
If you like to learn and grow, then another reason to love a pediatric nursing career is for the educational opportunities it provides. To become a pediatric nurse practitioner, IPN recommends you start by earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) and securing work in pediatric settings.7 From there, the ideal step is earning an MSN in Pediatrics Nurse Practitioner Primary Care.
Walden University’s online MSN program’s Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) Primary Care specialization can help you take your nursing career to the next level.
Walden’s online MSN degree program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), affirming that it meets stringent professional standards. Additionally, coursework in the PNP Primary Care specialization is consistent with the standards of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF). And as a graduate of Walden’s MSN Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Primary Care online degree program, you will be prepared to sit for the nurse practitioner primary care certification exam.
These are just a few of the reasons why Walden may be the perfect partner to help further your journey in pediatric nursing and prepare you to deliver top-quality healthcare to patients from birth to 21. Earn an MSN in Pediatrics Nurse Practitioner Primary Care online and let your passion for nursing and compassion for children help launch a fulfilling career as a pediatric nurse practitioner.
Walden University is an accredited institution offering an MSN degree program online with a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) Primary Care specialization. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.
1Source: https://ipedsnursing.org/whats-your-pediatric-nursing-superpower
2Source: www.ipedsnursing.org/pediatric-nursing-workforce-data
3Source: www.pncb.org/age-parameters
4Source: www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/nurse-anesthetists-nurse-midwives-and-nurse-practitioners.htm#tab-6
5Source: www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm
6Source: https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-100-best-jobs
7Source: https://ipedsnursing.org/be-pediatric-nurse
Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.