Information on Pediatric Nursing in Canada

Pediatric nurses in Canada are responsible for the care and well-being of children from birth to age 17 or 18 depending on the province. They are expected to provide excellent family-centered care, and are allowed to practice in various locations, including at individual homes, hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities and schools.

Job Duties

• The range of patients pediatric nurses are looking after can range from newborns who are premature or who have breathing problems to a teenager who received a broken leg in a football match or who is suffering from a severe allergic reaction to food she consumed. This means that the nurses have to answer to the families of these children. Some of their physical duties include checking patients regularly, taking blood pressure, dispensing medicine and monitoring patients' charts.

Roles

• What roles to pediatric nurses play?

  Pediatric nurses have many roles, and their positions are often very challenging. They are responsible for taking care of the needs of sick children, and also helping the families adjust. Some illnesses are more serious than others; therefore, the nurses also must be able to provide suitable feedback to family members, when necessary, to allay their fears or to help them adjust to the circumstances facing them.

Support

• Nurses lend a helping hand.

  Pediatric nurses should know how to deal with families who become emotional. Some people manage stress differently, and the nurses can offer their support in this area. The nurses must also allow the people who are caring for the children to do it in the manner they know best, and wherever possible give them the support they require. This means that the nurses must be open-minded to the ways parents relate to their children or children for whom they are caring.

History

• In 1875, The Hospital for Sick Kids in Toronto, Ontario, was the first pediatric hospital opened in Canada. Nurses working there are regulated under the Canada Nursing Association. CNA originated in 1908 and originally was named the Canadian National Association of Trained Nurses. CNA is now a federation of 11 provincial and territorial registered nurses associations and colleges. CNA certifies nurses in pediatric critical care as of 2010.

Significance

• The importance of pediatric nurses in Canada.

  Pediatric nursing is an essential specialization and these nurses have a definitive role in the nursing field. It requires an acute knowledge and the ability to deal with children whose physical conditions differ significantly from adults. Nurses must be versed in a list of competencies including cardiovascular systems, neurological systems, respiratory systems, renal systems and all other major systems that operate within the body. Without pediatric nurses, there would be a lack of specialization that could effect case outcomes.