Pediatric Clinical Nursing Experience

Pediatric Clinical Nursing Experience

Reflecting on my pediatric clinical nursing experience, I recall our daily routine activities with my peers and the new learning experiences we encountered each day. Discussing our plan every morning for the clinical day was one of the strategies we adopted to integrate learning and participating in handing over reports, doctors' ward rounds, and change-of-shift reports. However, hand-off reports were the most crucial part since they involved transitioning important patient information for continuity of care and patient safety.

When caring for children, one has to be mindful while communicating and treating them since they are still learning compared to adults, who have more defined values and are not likely to be affected by the world around them. Pediatric care focuses on the child's family, and health care providers need to talk to the child's parents regarding their child's health. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the health and social wellbeing of children, especially with the closure of schools, social distancing, and confinement at homes. Also, gaps in caring for children have developed since most children are often left home by their working parents, leading to children indulging in risky behaviors such as peer pressure influence and substance abuse.

I met all my clinical goals for the pediatric clinical nursing experience. I learned the principles of identifying and managing children with critical illnesses such as meningitis and pneumonia, the most common conditions. I responded appropriately to acute life-threatening events such as resuscitating, administering oxygen therapy, and stabilizing convulsing children. I will use the knowledge and skills I have acquired in other nursing practice areas to learn about normal children's development and emphasize preventative medicine and well child care by creating awareness to parents in preventing injury and illness.