Everyday in this world, children become ill or get into accidents and need medical attention. Whether these children are taken to a hospital, pediatrician, specialist, or clinic, a doctor and a pediatric nurse will tend to them. The nurse plays a role that is just as important as the doctor. Children's nurses work very closely with the child's families as part of the caring process. Every member of the child's family plays a role in different ways. The nurses are there to help the child as well as the family step through the illness or injury. They provide information for the prevention of future illness and injury, and help to comfort the child and his/her parents. It is vital that a pediatric nurse understands that to be a nurse, you need a certain personality and understanding of the field.
The significance of pediatric nurses applies to everyone they encounter. They provide a great amount of help to the doctors and physicians they encounter everyday. They assist in procedures, testing, and diagnosing the patient. They also help to aid families in understand the symptoms and diagnoses of their child. "The child is part of a family, a dynamic, ever-changing unit, and an integral part of any intervention" (McElroy, Gordon 445). Family is a part of the healing process for a child, and the nurse needs to make sure the family perceives the medical terms in a way that they can understand. The nurse also needs to make sure that if the child is old enough to be aware of what is going on, that they understand what is happening to them. They need to provide the child with a certain level of understanding and prepare them for what is about to come. When a child is about to receive a test or a certain procedure, the nurse is to step through what is happening to the child. The nurse is also there to supply comfort and to help nurture and relax a child through this difficult time. This could be as simple as holding a child's hand when they a getting a shot, or reading them a story after a hard day.