Required Pediatric Nursing Supplies

Working with children and infants, a pediatric nurse often deals with tools and supplies that are smaller than those that general nurses use for adults. Because the patients that pediatric nurses deal with are obviously tinier, have shorter limbs and smaller veins, they must be equipped with adequately modified tools.

Identification

• A pediatric nurse cares for newborns taking their first breaths and may work with children all the way up to adolescent teens. They must be prepared to care and tend to children at varying ages and levels of development and then decide upon exactly which routes of care to use for each patient. This is a diverse field, being that caring for those going from childhood to adulthood is vastly different depending on just what age the patient is.

Size

• Obviously because children are not as developed as adults are, pediatric nurses use smaller needles, smaller cuffs for blood pressure readings, respirator tubes with diameters that will fit into the small mouths of infants and children, and everything on a smaller scale. The adapters for cardiopulmonary monitors must fit a smaller chest size and the sensors for the other equipment measuring other pertinent information must be the correct size for the patient.

Misconceptions

• A misconception is that the most important supplies come in the form of tools or objects. A nurse's first line of care begins with using her own senses and knowledge to first assess a situation and a particular patient. This is why she must address the entire scene, taking it in with her eyes, hands and ears. It is with these tools that she can move forward to administer what level of care is needed and act quickly when it is necessary.

Features

• Outside of her immediate senses, hands and skills, a pediatric nurse's most common supplies are her stethoscope to monitor breathing and a patient's heart, and a blood pressure cuff to get an accurate reading. A thermometer is also used often, with readings being taken in the ear, under the tongue, or for infants in the rectum. A pediatric nurse will take an overall assessment of the patient, including their abdomen and extremities, eyes, nose and mouth.

Considerations

• A vital and rewarding part of being a pediatric nurse is working with young patients and improving their lives in any way they can. The importance of a personal and reassuring bedside manner is just as important as the small needles used to draw blood. A stay in a hospital can be scary for anyone, especially a young child, and it is part of a nurse's duty to put the mind of her patient at ease.