Description
Provide advanced, family-centered nursing care to infants, children, and adolescents with acute illnesses or injuries in a pediatric acute care unit. Perform pediatric-specific assessments and interventions, manage invasive devices and pre- and post-operative care, assist with stabilization, and coordinate safe transitions across settings.
- • Analyze age- and weight-specific indications, contraindications, risks, and benefits of pediatric therapeutic interventions with the care team and families.
- • Recognize and rapidly respond to acute deterioration and life-threatening instability in pediatric patients.
- • Distinguish normal versus abnormal pediatric developmental and age-related physiologic and behavioral findings in acute and chronic illness.
- • Manage pediatric pain and sedation using pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic methods, weight-based dosing, and ongoing reassessment.
- • Interpret pediatric EKGs, radiographs, and monitoring data within scope and escalate abnormalities.
- • Perform pediatric BLS, PALS, and other stabilization measures per protocols.
- • Assess urgent and emergent conditions using pediatric early warning scores and physiologic and technologic data.
- • Adjust and troubleshoot pediatric assistive devices (e.g., mechanical ventilators, high-flow oxygen, feeding tubes, temporary pacemakers) per orders.
- • Assess how illnesses or injuries affect growth, development, nutrition, sleep, play, school, and family dynamics.
- • Collaborate with pediatricians, surgeons, intensivists, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, social workers, and child life to plan and evaluate care.
- • Educate and engage children and their parents or guardians about illnesses, treatments, and home care using developmentally appropriate communication.
- • Document assessments, interventions, medications (mg/kg dosing), responses, intake/output, and treatment changes in the pediatric record.
- • Provide pediatric wound and vascular access care, including simple laceration management per protocol.
- • Set up, operate, and monitor age-appropriate invasive devices (tracheostomies, central lines, chest tubes, GI tubes) and mechanical ventilation.
- • Obtain pediatric specimens (blood, urine, stool, throat or nasopharyngeal swabs) using age-appropriate techniques.
- • Perform and interpret point-of-care tests per protocol and monitor diagnostic results to inform care.
- • Participate in family-centered rounds, care conferences, and safe handoffs.
- • Coordinate specialty consultations and ancillary therapies as ordered.
- • Administer weight-based IV fluids, medications, and blood products; monitor for and manage adverse reactions.
- • Assist families in navigating appointments, tests, equipment needs, and community resources.
- • Assess caregiver knowledge, coping, cultural needs, and safety or social concerns; escalate or report per policy.
- • Collaborate with families to plan safe discharges, transitions to higher or lower levels of care, and referrals.
- • Maintain competency through pediatric acute care education, PALS renewal, simulation, and evidence-based practice.
- • Contribute to pediatric protocols, clinical pathways, infection prevention, and quality improvement initiatives.
- • Complete pediatric admissions, transfers, and discharges, including medication reconciliation and immunization review.
- • Provide formal and informal education to staff and precept new nurses in pediatric acute care competencies.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
