The setting in which they work will also dictate the skills pediatric nurses need to employ, according to Janet Logid, a clinical education specialist with the Center for Professional Development and Practice at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. Nurses working on medical/surgical floors and in clinics may take more time to work with and educate patients and families. Nurses who work in critical care must love technology, have a strong interest in pathophysiology and the ability to work at a fast pace. "In critical care, you're trying to get that family through shift by shift," Logid says.

No matter what the setting, pediatric nurses need a nonjudgmental attitude, ability to work with diversity and a passion for working with children and families, according to Logid. "You treat them as a whole, not separate," she says.

Do It The Way Mom Does

"We want to make sure that nurses know they really are treating the whole family," agrees Sue Steen, an assistant professor of nursing specializing in maternal-child health at Bethel University in Arden Hills. "We always find we do better working with kids when we do things the way their moms do it at home."

That may mean reading a young patient a bedtime story, rocking a baby between doses of medication or giving a three-year-old a choice of what to drink after taking meds. It may also mean talking with the patient and family at the outset and determining what each wants to accomplish from a situation.

Give Kids Choices

Flexibility and patience also play huge roles in pediatrics, according to Steen. "You must be very flexible. Give children choices when possible and let them make decisions when they can," she says. "Your day may not always go as planned, but it will make hospitalization less traumatic for the kids."

Another big part of pediatrics is learning how to developmentally work with each child. For instance, nurses should give adolescent patients as much input in their care as they can handle, Steen says. They might also consider allowing hospitalized teens to stay up late to watch movies and then let them sleep in. "That's just their normal cycle and what they like to do," she says.