Hey Everyone, welcome to our comprehensive guide on Pediatric Travel Nursing.
This guide will discuss everything you need to know about Pediatric Travel Nurses, including their job responsibilities and how to become one.
This guide will cover:
- What do Pediatric Travel Nurses do?
- How to become a Pediatric Travel Nurse?
- Pediatric Travel Nurse Salary
- 5 Types of Pediatric Travel Nurses
- How to find Pediatric Travel Nurse Jobs?
Let’s dive straight in!
What do Pediatric Travel Nurses do?
One of the many types of Nurses is the Pediatric Nurse.
They care for children and adolescents and are typically employed permanently.
Unlike Pediatric Nurses, a Pediatric Travel Nurse works on a contractual basis and travels to various locations to provide the necessary medical care to children and adolescents in healthcare settings.
Pediatric Travel Nurses typically work in the acute care departments, such as the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) or pediatric emergency department.
With each new assignment, they work closely with Physicians and other medical team members to plan and administer a course of care for children to achieve better health outcomes.
We delve deeper into their job responsibilities below:
Job Responsibilities
The primary job responsibilities of a Pediatric Travel Nurse include:
- Checking vital Signs
- Taking blood sugars
- Analyze symptoms
- Record a patient’s medical histories
- Perform diagnostic tests
Pediatric Travel Nurses are responsible for the following tasks concerning children’s unique healthcare needs:
- Communicate the child’s medical condition with the parents
- Ease fear expressed by Parents and Children
- Handle challenging situations
- Manage communication among Pediatric team members
Now that you know what a Pediatric Travel Nurse does, let’s explore how you could embark on becoming a Pediatric Travel Nurse.
How to Become a Pediatric Travel Nurse?
The journey to becoming a Pediatric Travel Nurse is quite similar to becoming a Registered Nurse.
It differs when you get to the part where you have to earn your pediatric-related certification.
Nonetheless, the process remains relatively straightforward, which we will demonstrate below:
Step 1: Educational requirements
The first step to becoming a Pediatric Travel Nurse is to become a Registered Nurse.
To become a Registered Nurse, you will first have to earn a high school diploma with a GPA of 2.5 or higher and then register with a Nursing school to complete an Associate Degree in Nursing or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Once you graduate from your degree program, you must take a licensure examination.
After you have passed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) – you’re now a step closer to becoming a Pediatric Travel Nurse.
Step 2: Job skills and experience requirements
After becoming a Registered Nurse, the next step to becoming a Pediatric Travel Nurse is to get work experience in your desired field.
You may want to look up internship opportunities with a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner or even a Pediatrician to get your first bits of experience.
Once you land an internship opportunity, you will be able to experience some of the job skills required to get your job done efficiently.
Some of these include the ability to pay attention to detail, communication, and teamwork, to mention a few.
Step 3: Special Certifications
While obtaining experience in a Pediatric setting is already enough to set you apart from Registered Nurses, you’ll also have to get specific certification to work as a Pediatric Travel Nurse.
The certification often required to work as a Pediatric Nurse is known as the Certified Pediatric Nurse Certification.
The CPN provides Pediatric Nurses with the career knowledge needed to hone their specialty.
Even if an employer does not require it, receiving a Certified Pediatric Nurse certification is still necessary.
With a Certified Pediatric Nurse certification, you are likely to increase your chances of getting a job, and if that’s not impressive enough, you may earn more.
Other certifications that a Pediatric Travel Nurse may want to obtain include an Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Basic Life Support (BLS), and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certification.
When Pediatric Travel Nurses choose to pursue specializations, like pediatric dermatology, oncology, cardiology, or home health care, they may also need to acquire special certifications.
The following section looks at how much Pediatric Travel Nurses earn.
Pediatric Travel Nursing Salary
While the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not record data regarding the median salary of Pediatric Travel Nurses, it’s usually valid to go off the salary of an RN if you’d like to get a scope of how much a Pediatric Travel Nurse may earn.
Otherwise, reputable employment websites like ZipRecruiter have analyzed full-time Pediatric Travel Nurse salaries in the United States, finding their median annual wage is $98 343 a year, or $47 per hour.
Top earners made $144 500 per annum, while Ziprecruiter observed salaries as low as $23 500 per year for the lowest-earning Pediatric Travel Nurse.
The majority of Pediatric Travel Nurse’ Salaries ranged between $79 000 and $114 500.
The variation in salaries is probably because, like in other Nursing Professions, the wages of individuals are based on their level of experience, the qualifications they hold, or the healthcare facility where they are employed.
For example, as mentioned earlier, having a CPN will likely lead to a higher salary.
Also, Pediatric ICU Nurses who work in Intensive care Units are likely to earn more.
In addition to a contractual salary, Pediatric Travel Nurses often have access to employment benefits.
These include travel reimbursements and housing stipends, and the ability to earn bonuses by bringing in referrals.
And we are pretty sure that any prospective Pediatric Travel Nurse will agree that having employment benefits increases the value of a Pediatric Travel Nurses income significantly.
5 Types of Pediatric Travel Nurses
When becoming a Pediatric Nurse, you get the option to further specialize in a specific type of Pediatric practice.
Choosing a Pediatric specialization will lie in your career interests and how you see yourself advancing professionally.
To help you understand the different Pediatric specializations and how they may align with your professional interests, we’ll discuss the five types of Pediatric Nurses below.
Pediatric Travel Nurse RN
A Pediatric Registered Nurse often works in children’s Hospitals or Physicians’ offices and is responsible for caring for children.
Some of their primary duties include checking the child’s vital signs, and regularly administering check-ups.
Furthermore, Pediatric Travel RNs administer vaccinations, screen the child’s developmental progress, and work with other healthcare professionals to administer the intended care plan.
Neonatal Nurse
Becoming a Neonatal Nurse means you’ll work in setups that specifically cater to premature babies.
Your primary role will support babies born prematurely or with other congenital disabilities to reach better health outcomes.
Other duties include checking vital signs for babies in the NeoNatal Intensive care unit (NICU) and ensuring that equipment used to support the baby is functioning correctly.
Furthermore, you will be required to communicate with parents about the baby’s progress and take parents through the journey of having to watch their child grow outside of the mother’s womb.
Developmental Disability Pediatric Nurse
When choosing to become a Developmental Disability Pediatric Nurse, you commit to providing support for children born with disabilities.
Your daily activities will include working with children with developmental disorders like autism or down syndrome and helping them with their basic life skills.
Pediatric Palliative care
A Pediatric Palliative Care nurse is responsible for providing quality care to terminally ill children.
These professionals are usually highly emotionally intelligent and skilled.
With having to work with terminally ill children often being quite emotional, Pediatric Palliative care Nurses require impeccable training in approaching families with their children’s conditions and being compassionately present at the bedside of a terminally ill child.
Pediatric Endocrinology Nurse
A Pediatric Endocrinology Nurse typically provides patient care to children diagnosed with Endocrine-related diseases such as pituitary problems, diabetes, and hypoglycemia.
Some of their primary job duties include monitoring the child’s vital signs, performing tests, and recording their medical history.
Furthermore, they are responsible for educating children and their parents on how to make better lifestyle choices concerning their diagnosis.
We’ve covered the types of Pediatric Travel Nurses; now, let’s see how Pediatric Travel Nurses find jobs in the next section.
How to find Pediatric Travel Nurse Jobs?
The easiest way to find Pediatric Travel Nurse jobs is to join a Pediatric Nurse Staffing Agency.
Pediatric Travel Nurse Agencies are responsible for placing professionals in hospitals and other healthcare facilities where they may need their services.
As soon as a Nurse approaches a Pediatric Travel Nurse Agency, they are often connected with recruiters.
Recruiters go over a Nurse’s qualifications, years of experience, and specializations and consider their career goals to place them in appropriate facilities – making the job hunting process a whole lot easier.
While landing a Travel Nursing position after joining an Agency or connecting with a recruiter may be relatively more manageable, the hard part comes in finding the right recruiter.
But not to fret, with a little bit of research, referrals from professionals in the industry, and browsing rating services, you should be able to find the right Pediatric Travel Nurse agency in no time.
Conclusion
Becoming a Pediatric Nurse is one of the many routes you can take your career in after becoming a Registered Nurse.
While taking the Pediatric Nurse’s direction is associated with high-level training and emotional stress, the job becomes significantly rewarding when you can care for children in the best way possible.
Plus, should you take on the opportunity to become a Pediatric Travel Nurse, you’ll get to administer care to children in various environments.
So whether you are considering becoming a Pediatric Travel Nurse or are simply curious about the job, we hope this guide clarifies who they are and how to become one.
All the best!
FAQs
How do you become a Pediatric Travel Nurse?
Becoming a Pediatric Travel Nurse requires you to become a Registered Nurse. To become an RN, you need to earn an Associate’s Degree or Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. Then, take and pass the NCLEX-RN examination. After that, look up internship opportunities with a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner.
How long are Pediatric Travel Nurse assignments?
According to Trusted Nurse Staffing, Pediatric Travel Nurse Assignments are usually about 13 weeks long. However, you could also land yourself an assignment from as little as eight weeks long to as much as 52 weeks long.
How much does a Pediatric Travel Nurse make?
According to ZipRecruiter, a Pediatric Travel Nurse makes an annual average income of $98 343, which works out to $47 per hour. Most Pediatric Nurses earn between $79 000 and $117 500. The highest-earning Pediatric Travel Nurses make as much as $144 500 per annum.
What are Pediatric Nurse benefits?
Some of the advantages of being a Pediatric Nurse include the option to work in a variety of healthcare settings and earning competitive pay. Additionally, offering hope and comfort to children afraid of their medical treatments is an added benefit.
What is an RN Pediatric Nurse’s salary?
According to ZipRecruiter, a Pediatric Registered Nurse’s average annual salary is $76 848, which pays $37 per hour. The lowest-earning Pediatric RNs earn an average of $46 000 yearly, while the highest-earning Pediatric RNs earn $117 500 per year.
What are the top 10 cities for Pediatric Travel Nurse jobs?
Based on earning potential and attractive travel destinations, the top 10 cities are New York, St. Lewis, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Dallas, Miami, Fort Myers, Los Angeles, and Boston.
What are the pros and cons of Pediatric Travel Nursing?
Some of the pros include being able to travel to various destinations, potentially earning more income, and having flexibility and control over the work you accept. The cons involve being away from family and sometimes the inability to build long-term relationships with patients.
What is a Pediatric Travel Nurse?
A Pediatric Travel Nurse works in different healthcare facilities and travels to various locations to administer care to children. They work closely with Physicians and other healthcare professionals to ensure specialized care is provided to children to promote better health outcomes.
