Pediatric ER Nurse: Career Overview

Are you great at thinking on your feet and anticipating clinical problems? Do you get gratification from supporting children and families through challenging moments? With the right schooling and experience, you could cultivate key pediatric ER nurse skills to work in this essential specialty.

Nurses in the pediatric emergency room (ER) and emergency department (ED) are some of the first people that sick kids see when they need care. These nurses are essential in assessing, treating, educating, and discharging patients, while putting kids at ease and helping to carry out care plans.

This is not just a necessary career field, but also a stable one. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects nursing jobs to grow by 6% in the next several years, which is faster than the national average. What’s more, 20% of emergency department patients are children, so specializing in their care could make you a valuable asset to the healthcare team. If you’re interested in a career as a pediatric ED or ER nurse, you’ll have many options.

What Does a Pediatric ER Nurse Do?

Pediatric ER nurses give specialized care to infants, children, and young adults in urgent medical need. A day in the life of a pediatric ER nurse is different from one shift to the next — you might find yourself inserting a 26g IV on an infant, then assessing a teenager for meningitis in the next room.

In this role, you’ll see a wide range of clinical problems, from choking and allergic reactions to traumatic injuries and stomach bugs. Peds ER nurses become like Swiss Army knives, able to anticipate needs and provide care for patients with different acuities, all in the same shift.

In broad terms, here are the basic responsibilities of a peds ER nurse:

• Assessment and triage, performed quickly and accurately, prioritizing care based on the severity of a patient’s condition
• Medical interventions, such as giving medications, starting IV lines, and providing respiratory support to stabilize children in critical conditions
• Collaboration with pediatricians, advanced practice providers, nursing aides, radiologists, and other healthcare professionals to develop and implement comprehensive care plans
• Patient and family support during their stay in the ER, explaining diagnoses, treatment options, and post-discharge care instructions to ensure that families understand the plan of care
• Age-appropriate communication to match the developmental stage of their patients, affirming that each patient gets tailored education and care
• Documentation of medical records, assessments, interventions, and patient responses to treatment to comply with regulatory standards and hospital policies

To accomplish each of these goals, peds ER nurses develop specialized clinical skills. Specific peds ER nursing tasks include:

• Assisting with endotracheal intubations when patients need respiratory support.
• Administering infant, child, and adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
• Providing wound care, including stoma and tracheostomy care.
• Assessing and managing pain.
• Administering medication — PO (by mouth), IM (intramuscular), topical, or IV.
• Offering immunization education and administering vaccinations.
• Assisting with diagnostic testing, such as ultrasounds and MRIs.
• Drawing blood, collecting urine, and gathering other samples for tests.

How Much Do Pediatric ER Nurses Make?

The average pediatric ER nurse salary is $115,700. Your salary will depend on your experience, certifications, education, and location.

If you’re interested in boosting your nursing income, you might want to check out being a pediatric ER travel nurse. These contract-based clinicians typically earn more than in-house staff because they travel to facilities that urgently need support.

To see what you might earn in your area, check out the latest pediatric nurse jobs on IntelyCare.

How to Become a Pediatric ER Nurse: 4 Steps

Step 1: Nursing School

Pediatric ER nurse schooling begins with either an associate (ADN) or bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN). Either degree path is designed to teach you the basic skills to practice. You’ll take classes on women’s health and obstetric care, as well as pediatric medicine and pharmacology. You’ll also rotate into real-world clinical placements in pediatric and infant care.

Step 2: Pass the NCLEX

Once you graduate from nursing school, congratulations! The next step is to take the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses — the NCLEX-RN. This exam is administered on a computer at testing sites, and uses a variety of question formats. Learn about how to prepare for the NCLEX so you can pass with flying colors.

Step 3: Gain Experience

Depending on where you live, you may be able to enter a peds ER nursing residency right after graduation. Residency programs pair new graduate nurses with preceptors to help support their transition into professional nursing.

In some areas, you may find that you’ll need to gain experience in another specialty before transitioning into pediatrics or emergency medicine. The first few years as a nurse can be challenging, so give yourself grace as you learn the ropes, gain experience, and build confidence.

Step 4: Continuing Education and Certification

If you’re looking for ways to advance your career as a peds ER nurse, consider getting additional certifications that will build your skill set and your confidence. Here are some of the leading certifications and courses for pediatric and emergency room nurses:

• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
• Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB)
• Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN)
• Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course (ENPC)
• Pediatric Nursing Board Certification (PED-BC)
• Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition, and Stabilization (PEARS)
• International Trauma Life Support – Pediatric (ITLS Pediatric)
• S.T.A.B.L.E.

This career also has opportunities for continuous advancement. Down the line, you might become a pediatric nurse practitioner, diagnosing and treating patients independently. Or, you could contribute to knowledge advancement through research, or by teaching new nurses as an educator.

Looking for Pediatric ER Nurse Jobs?

If you’re curious about opportunities for peds ER nurses in your area, sign up for nursing job notifications. You’ll be the first to know about fresh nursing roles that could be a great fit for you.