How to Become a Pediatric Nurse

A career as a pediatric nurse often comes with lots of giggles, excitement, and heartbreak. When you become a peds nurse, your career will expand as you take on the challenges of caring for acute or critically ill children in your community.

Discover what it takes to become a pediatric nurse. Learn which skills, education, and nursing qualities you need to be successful in the role.

A pediatric nurse cares for babies and kids up to age 18. Many pediatric primary care providers treat pediatric patients until they’re 21. Peds nurses are skilled at customizing their approach to care based on a child’s developmental needs.

They can work anywhere a kid gets care, such as:

Pediatric nurses’ responsibilities vary by setting. For example, a nurse in a pediatric neurology clinic might be responsible for helping a child prepare for brain surgery. This can involve collecting blood work, getting vital signs, and providing patient and family education before surgery.

A pediatric registered nurse working in a children’s hospital might care for the same child after brain surgery. In this setting, their responsibilities are more focused on ensuring a child is stable after the procedure. Their nursing tasks might include:

No matter which setting a pediatric nurse chooses, the role requires taking a patient-and-family-centered approach to care. Peds nurses are responsible for including the child’s parents in clinical decisions. This often means involving parents in interdisciplinary rounds and providing individualized teaching.

To become a pediatric nurse, you need to earn an associate degree in nursing (ADN) or a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree and pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) to receive RN licensure.

Then, you must gain experience in pediatric nursing. You can also consider becoming a certified pediatric nurse.

You need at least an ADN degree to take the NCLEX-RN and get your RN license. However, a BSN degree may open up more opportunities for leadership positions, continuing education, promotions, and higher salaries.

To become a pediatric nurse, you must first become licensed in the state where you plan to practice. After completing your nursing education, you’ll need to pass the NCLEX-RN exam to become a licensed registered nurse.

To maintain RN licensure, you’ll renew your nursing license every two years. The requirements vary by state, but license renewals generally require a combination of working hours and continuing education.

After you have your RN license, you can apply for pediatric nursing jobs in the area you’re interested in. Depending on the nursing specialty you chose, you may need to get certifications before working on a unit. Some examples of mandatory certifications for peds nurses are:

Pediatric nurses can get certified in their specialty area after working for a few years. Certifications can supplement your nursing practice but aren’t typically mandatory to work in a unit. Examples of optional pediatric nurse certifications include:

If you’re in nursing school, it’s never too early to start networking for a future career as a pediatric nurse. During your peds clinical rotation, make a point to meet as many nurses — and the nurse manager — on the unit as you can. Doing so can give you an advantage when the unit opens a capstone placement, nurse externship, or new graduate position.

When you become a pediatric nurse, you can work in an inpatient or outpatient setting. You might consider working in a children’s hospital to gain a highly specialized skill set caring for the sickest kids in your region.

A career as a pediatric nurse can be fulfilling but challenging. You’ll work with children and their families at some of their most vulnerable times, which require empathy, patience, and strength. Seeing kids overcome serious illness is often one of the most rewarding aspects of the job.

It can be financially rewarding, too — pediatric nurses make an average of $31.38 per hour, according to Payscale data from February 2024. The projected job growth rate for registered nurses is 6% from 2022-2032, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Page last reviewed on March 5, 2024