Pediatric Nursing Overview

Overview of Pediatric Nursing

• Pediatric nursing is a specialized area of nursing practice focused on children's care during wellness and illness. This includes preventative, curative, and rehabilitative care.
• Pediatric nursing plays a crucial role in shaping the future well-being of children, families, communities, and society.
• The field encompasses caring for both healthy and sick children, encompassing physical and psychological needs.
• The term "pediatrics" comes from Greek words: "pedia" meaning child, "iatric" meaning treatment, and "ics" meaning branch of science.

Definition of Pediatric Nursing

• Pediatric nursing is the science and art of providing nursing care to children from birth to adolescence, emphasizing physical, mental, social, and emotional growth.

Purposes of Pediatric Nursing

• To promote the highest possible level of health in each child.
  • Preventing disease or injury
  • Assisting children with disabilities or health problems to maintain optimal health and development.
  • Treating or rehabilitating children with health deviations.

Goals of Pediatric Nursing

• Preventing and alleviating disease and suffering.
• Guiding parents in childcare.
• Promoting growth and development in children.

Scopes of Pediatric Nursing

• Ambulatory settings (e.g., homes, schools, physician's clinics) where children and their parents have health or counseling needs.
• Institutional settings (e.g., general or specialized hospitals) where sick children and their families receive care.

Role of the Pediatric Nurse

• Family advocacy/caring: supporting or changing existing healthcare practices, involving families in their child's care when possible.
• Disease prevention and health promotion: practicing preventive health in all child care interactions.
• Health teaching: providing direct or indirect health education to parents and children to understand diagnoses and treatments.
• Support and counseling: facilitating discussions, providing mutual support, and offering education to families.
• Therapeutic role: continuously assessing and evaluating the physical status of the child.
• Coordination and collaboration: coordinating services with other healthcare professionals.
• Research: contributing to research and applying research findings in practice.
• Health care planning: promoting high-quality healthcare for children.

Qualities Essential for a Good Pediatric Nurse

• Preparedness to care for family members, including healthy and sick children.
• Interest in family care and love for children.
• Understanding of the family's cultural background.
• Observational skills.
• Truthfulness.
• Dependability.
• Punctuality.
• Compassion and empathy.
• Patience.
• Cheerfulness.
• Tact and diplomacy
• Enjoyment of teaching others.

Current Concepts of Pediatric Nursing

• Family-centered care: empowering families to display their abilities and competencies in meeting the child's and family needs.
• High-technology care: needing increased technical skills in patient care and computer knowledge (e.g., pediatric call centers).
• Atraumatic care: using interventions to minimize psychological and physical distress in children and families.
• Cost containment: implementing strategies to reduce healthcare costs and inefficiencies in the health system.
• Evidence-based practice: using current and valid research as the basis for clinical decisions in care.
• Critical thinking: using clinical judgment, purposeful thought, and reasoning to make decisions that improve patient outcomes.

Concepts Related to the Child

• Mortality: the incidence of death in a specific time period, usually presented as rates per 100,000.
• Morbidity: the prevalence of specific illnesses in a population at a particular time, often presented per 1000 population.

Health Indicators

• Standardized measures used to compare health status and performance of health systems.

Nursing Process

• A method for problem identification and problem-solving that describes what nurses do.

Changes Influencing Nursing Care of Children

• Changing needs of society
• Medical and technological advances
• Changes in Egyptian laws
• Trends within the nursing profession
• Increased understanding of psychological aspects.
• consumer demands
• Development of pediatric clinical specialities (e.g., cardiology, hematology, nephrology).

MCQ Question

• Evidence-based practice is the use of current valid research findings to inform clinical decisions.

Additional Questions (from page 19)

• Additional questions about defining pediatric nursing, mortality rate, morbidity rate, purposes of pediatric nursing, and roles of a pediatric nurse were not included in the provided text

This quiz covers the essential aspects of pediatric nursing, focusing on providing care to children from birth to adolescence. Explore the definitions, purposes, and significance of pediatric nursing in promoting child health and well-being. Understand the unique challenges and practices associated with caring for children in various health contexts.