I recently received an email from a YNT member asking if I could offer some tips on how to study Specialty Nursing topics like Maternity, Pediatrics, and Psych. It was a really great suggestion, so I decided that I should go a step further and do an entire mini-series about it! Keep reading, because today I’m going to tell you the best things you can do to study Pediatric nursing.
Pediatrics/Child Health Study Tips
Although studying pediatrics seems a lot different than studying adult disorders, it’s really not. The best thing you can do is to approach pediatric nursing material the same way that you would approach your Med-Surg class: by using my 4-Step Study Method.
- Understand normal Anatomy and Physiology
- Identify what “broke” to cause an illness
- Predict what symptoms you expect to see as a result of what broke
- Identify the nursing care you would provide for those symptoms
Yes, it IS helpful to know which illnesses are more likely to show up in kids (like chicken pox or croup), but knowing that it’s a common pediatric problem doesn’t change the way that you study it.
When you use the 4-Step Study Method first, you’ll find that the hard work is already done before you’ve even looked at kid-specific info! So let’s add a “step 5” for Pediatrics that includes reviewing the developmental stages.
The way that we interact with a toddler is going to be very different than the way we interact with a teenager. Knowing what’s generally “normal” for each age group is essential because it allows you to pick the best ways to teach your patients and help them live as normally as possible in a hospital setting. Memorizing Erikson’s stages of development can be extremely helpful in this process, too.
I hope you will have an easier time studying Pediatric topics from now on. If you have a minute, add a comment below and tell me about the biggest problems YOU’VE encountered with Pediatric nursing!
In my next blog post, I’ll be tackling some tips on how to study Maternity nursing…so stay tuned!
Nicole Whitworth is the founder of Your Nursing Tutor. She has a BSN and an MA in Clinical Psychology, and has been a professional nursing tutor for over 12+ years. Nicole specializes in getting nursing students through school confidently and calmly so that everything finally “clicks”. She is also the creator of the Silver Bullet Study System, an easy-to-follow study method that automatically trains your brain to become a nurse at the same time that you study for your normal nursing classes.
I’m in an accelerated Bachelors program, we are set to begin Pediatrics this Summer (5 weeks). So, how can I prepare ahead? what childhood health issues do I need to know?
Wow
I also want to be a pediatric nurse but, I’m a 8th grader who just promoted, is there any classes I must take? Please give me some advice on pediatric nursing for a high school student. Such as preparations and qualifications.
Thank you
thank u so much i what to be a pediatric nurse and i will try harder to get it right thank u. im stuying on it
That’s great, Chelsea! I actually worked in Pediatrics myself when I first graduated…first in the Operating room, then doing phone triage. I loved working with the kids, and I think it tends to be a more fun environment because all the doctors and nurses try to be a little more silly to entertain the kids 🙂 Good luck!