Whether you’re preparing to be a parent or just enrolled in an affordable MSN FNP program online, it’s important to understand the role family nurses play in pediatric care. A family nurse practitioner is a registered nurse with specialized training and advanced education to provide primary care to individuals and families of all ages, including pediatrics.
A family nurse practitioner is a patient-facing role, meaning they work directly with their patients, providing primary and specialized care. They have an essential role in the healthcare system, supporting individuals and families alike. The role can assess, diagnose, and treat patients as young as toddlers to elderly patients.
What is Pediatric Care?
Similar to how there are medical professionals who specialize in providing care to older adults, pediatrics is a branch of healthcare that focuses on children. Pediatrics is a field that is dedicated to providing care for the social, physical, and emotional health of newborns, babies, toddlers, children, teenagers, and young adults up to the age of 21.
Pediatric care is a field that covers a wide range of healthcare professionals, including family nurses. Typically, a family nurse practitioner will also work with other medical professionals, including doctors, physiotherapists, social workers, and occupational therapists depending on the treatment required.
Family nurses will provide age-appropriate pediatric care to the children they are working with. This can include vaccinations, immunizations, diagnosing/treating illnesses and injuries, identifying developmental/behavioral problems and providing advice to parents. They will provide preventative care as well as monitoring, ensuring that your children have healthy development and growth.
Why is pediatric care important?
Babies, children, and adolescents aren’t miniature adults—they rely on their primary caregivers and professionals for support. They have their own needs, and pediatric care helps to ensure that those needs are met.
These needs can include pediatric doctors or nurses assisting with medical support, and illnesses, or educating their primary caregivers regarding care for their child. Pediatric professionals are involved in every aspect of their patient’s care, from social to health and physical.
Parents, family nurses, and children’s health
Being a parent can be daunting, especially if it’s your first time. Not only are family nurse practitioners there to support the health and growth of your children, but they can provide support and advice to parents. They can educate parents on what to expect, typical developmental challenges that new parents and children may face, as well as on specific illnesses and treatments.
If you’re looking to stay on top of your child’s health, having a regular family nurse practitioner that you visit is the key. Research has shown that children who visit the same pediatric professional tend to have better overall health. Having an ongoing relationship with the same medical professional that oversees your child’s health, allows the professional to better understand your child, learn about their family situation, and provide personalized care.
When the pediatric care professional overseeing your child has a strong relationship with them, as well as the primary caregivers—it allows them to give the best recommendations possible when it comes to development and health. It ensures that the child feels comfortable with the professional and can be honest when it comes to discussing their symptoms and what they’re going through.
Family nurse practitioners also aren’t limited to just general pediatric care. For example, they can specialize in subfields, including neonatal—so they specifically work with newborns and parents postpartum. Other examples of subspecialties related to pediatrics that are available for family nurse practitioners include cardiology, emergency, and dermatology.
Family nurses and statistics
With the recent lack of family care doctors, there has been a rise in family nurse practitioners and those nurses taking on primary care positions. Family nurse practitioners are classified as “advanced practice nurses”, which is also reflected in their salaries. They are one of the most sought-after nurse positions and are well-paid.
There are over 200,000 family nurse practitioners 1https://www.zippia.com/family-nurse-practitioner-jobs/demographics/ in the United States, with it being the most common specialization for nurses and one of the most common healthcare positions. They play a pivotal role in the American healthcare system, whether it's in pediatrics or another field. If you’re interested in advancing your nursing career and specializing in family nursing, it’s a rewarding field with great job prospects.
Additional resources and citations
- 1https://www.zippia.com/family-nurse-practitioner-jobs/demographics/