Children's Nurse

Children's nurses work with sick or injured patients up to 18 years old in a wide range of hospital and community settings, from specialist baby care units to adolescent services. They are specially trained to deal with the needs of children and young people. Their day-to-day tasks vary enormously but could include:

• taking a patient's medical history and using this information to devise a care plan
• observing patients' progress and recording any changes
• doing tests such as temperature, blood pressure and respiration rates
• treating patients, for example by giving medication, or cleaning and dressing wounds
• reassuring young patients who may be frightened or confused
• supporting patients' families and carers and teaching them how to provide care
• liaising with other care professionals to make sure that patients have all the help they need - children may not be able to speak for themselves
• using dolls, puppets or role play to help children talk about their feelings.

Full-time nurses in the National Health Service (NHS) work 37.5 hours a week. This may include early mornings, evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays. Part-time work and flexible hours are often available. Children's nurses work in children's wards in general hospitals, specialist children's hospitals and hospices, children's health centres and day care centres. Many children's nurses work in the community, visiting children in their own homes, as children are less frightened in familiar surroundings.

Salaries in the NHS range from £20,710 a year for a newly-qualified nurse up to £65,657 for a nurse consultant.

Besides having general nursing skills, a children's nurse should:

• enjoy working with children
• be able to gain the trust of children and their families
• have the authority to deal with patients who are anxious or distressed
• have excellent communication skills to teach care techniques to people with no medical knowledge
• be open-minded about other people's parenting methods.

The NHS employs around 13,700 registered children's nurses in England. There are also opportunities in private hospitals, and with charitable and voluntary organisations.

Children's nurses must hold a degree or diploma recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), qualifying them in the children's branch of nursing. For more general information about becoming a nurse, see Nurse. They must register with the NMC before they are allowed to practise.

Children's nurses may take further training to allow them to specialise in fields such as cancer care, burns or child protection, or to become school nurses or health visitors.

Children's nurses may apply for leadership roles with wider responsibilities, such as sister, charge nurse or nurse consultant. There are also opportunities to move into specialist nurse roles, nurse education, research and general NHS management.

May 2009