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You know you are a pediatric nurse when you get excited each day
that you come to work because you get to experience one of the
most endearing, resilient, and beautiful patient populations.
- Nicole Lehr, RN, CPN
Why pediatrics?
The greatest trust anyone can give you is to trust you to care for
their child. Pediatric nurses get that kind of trust every day.
Every day you take care of children is a privileged day – a day you
are shown utmost trust, and given the greatest learning
opportunities and the greatest opportunities to experience the entire
spectrum of life.
Photo credits: Getty Images (top); L. Klein and L. Brunk, RN, CPN, Aultman
Working on Wellness (middle), Centers for Disease Control (bottom)
Have an interest in peds?
Ask faculty about pediatric nursing roles
Ask your student leaders for guest speakers who are pediatric
nurses so they can discuss their career choices
Talk to pediatric nursing professionals in your community about
the challenges and rewards of their specific roles
Seek out clinicals or intern/extern programs that focus on or
include pediatric populations
Consider working for local hospitals that care for pediatric
populations
More ideas
Consider joining online forums like allnurses.com to discuss peds
nursing
Find free and low-cost online learning opportunities with peds
nursing content like:
• PNCB – all peds (RN and advanced practice):
http://www.freepedsce.org
• Medscape – use search feature to find “pediatrics”:
http://www.medscape.org/nurses
• Nursing Spectrum – sometimes features peds:
http://ce.nurse.com/FreeCE.aspx
• Advance for RNs – usually a few low-cost peds modules:
http://nursing.advanceweb.com/CE/TestCenter/Main.aspx
While job hunting
Highlight any peds-related experience on your
resume
Ask potential hospital employers if they offer a
pediatric RN residency program or other
specialized training
Consider short-term volunteer opportunities
(e.g., youth summer camps)
After you’re hired
Don’t be afraid to ask questions
Certified Pediatric Nurses at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
Why certify?
Nurses seek certification for many reasons:
Potential financial benefits from
employers
An edge on advancement and future job
opportunities
Increased confidence in clinical skills
Children’s Medical Center of Dallas reception honoring certified nursing professionals during Nurses Week.
Interview tip
During interviews, ask prospective employers
what benefits are available for nurses who
become certified.
• You will not be able to tell the difference between scored and non-scored
questions
The CPN exam only asks multiple choice questions, while NCLEX
contains alternate item formats (fill in the blanks, hot spot items, etc.).
With the CPN exam, you can also return to questions and change an
answer before final submission.
PNCB does not use adaptive testing, which can vary the number of
questions a testers sees, and ends when competence is determined. The
CPN exam does not end until 3 hours are up, or unless the tester submits
answers before that time limit.
How is certification maintained?
CPN renewal, or recertification, is an annual process. Each
year, CPNs document 15 completed contact hours of
continuing education (CE) or accepted equivalents.
CPEN recertification is every 4 years. CPENs document 100
completed contact hours of CE or accepted equivalents, or
they can re-take the initial exam.
Q: Is it expensive to keep up with the education?
A: It depends. Conference CE usually costs more than online
CE. Some online CE is free or very low cost. Some
employers offer CE for free or reduced costs. All certification
boards charge a fee for recertification.
Subspecialty Certifications
Certifications beyond general peds are available from other
certification boards too:
Pediatric Emergency Nursing
Jointly offered by the PNCB and the Board of Certification for Emergency Nurses
Pediatric Oncology
Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation
School Nursing
National Board for Certification of School Nurses
Future Career Pathways
There’s always room to grow in nursing!
Manager or other leadership positions
Free CE
www.pncb.org