You love nursing. You love traveling. And you love kids.
Put those three together, and you’ve found the perfect job — a pediatric travel nurse.
You really can have it all when it comes to travel nursing.
We’ve created this comprehensive guide to answer some of the most popular questions about traveling pediatric nursing, including the job requirements, pros and cons, and the highest paying states for pediatric travel nurse assignments.
Table of Contents
- What Is Pediatric Travel Nursing?
- 5 Types of Pediatric Travel Nurses
- How Do You Become a Pediatric Travel Nurse?
- Who Is the Best Candidate for Pediatric Travel Nurse Jobs?
- What Are the Pros (and Cons) of Pediatric Travel Nursing?
- How Long Are Pediatric Travel Nurse Assignments?
- How Much Do Traveling Pediatric Nurses Make?
- Top 5 States for Pediatric Travel Nurse Jobs
- Interested in Pediatric Travel Nurse Assignments? Let the Experts at Trusted Nurse Staffing Help You Find the Position That’s Right for You
What Is Pediatric Travel Nursing?
Pediatric travel nursing combines the expertise of a pediatric nurse with the benefits of being a travel nurse — new places, new assignments, and new experiences.
Pediatric travel nurses are a special breed of nurses, as the job often requires resilience, quick thinking, and the ability to hold back tears.
These specialized nurses usually complete advanced training in pediatrics and work closely with physicians and other health care providers. They are experts in collaboration and are dedicated to the health of children.
As a pediatric travel nurse, you’ll perform many of the same duties as other nurses, including …
- Measuring vitals
- Taking blood; and
- Performing a variety of diagnostic tests
But you’ll also be focusing on the special health care needs of children while communicating closely with their parents.
Pediatric travel nurses are experts in:
- Alleviating fears of children and parents
- Handling tough situations; and
- Communicating with the pediatric team and patients’ loved ones
If you’re considering hitting the road as a pediatric travel nurse, the team at Trusted Nurse Staffing would love to help you find the perfect assignment. Search for pediatric travel nursing jobs on Pronto today.
5 Types of Pediatric Travel Nurses
#1: Pediatric RN
A pediatric RN usually works with children in doctors’ offices and hospitals.
Your primary role in a doctor’s office would be to provide routine checkups for children of all ages. In a hospital, your focus may be to administer care according to the child’s nursing care plan.
A pediatric travel RN’s duties may include:
- Taking and monitoring vital signs
- Communicating with parents
- Helping families cope with the stress of an illness
- Providing routine checkups for children
- Performing developmental screenings
- Giving immunizations
- Treating illnesses
#2: Neonatal Nurse
A neonatal nurse provides care and support for newborn infants who are born:
- Prematurely
- With birth defects
- With infection; or
- Having heart deformities.
Travel neonatal nurses usually work in a hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Your duties as a neonatal travel nurse may include:
- Taking and monitoring the vital signs of babies in the NICU
- Informing parents of their baby’s progress
- Working with premature babies and families, helping them to adjust to life outside the mother’s womb
#3: Developmental Disability Pediatric Nurse
Developmental disability pediatric travel nursing includes helping a wide range of pediatric patients. These children often have disabilities that affect their ability to learn and perform basic life skills.
Developmental disability nurses work with children with disabilities such as:
- Down syndrome
- Autism
- Rett syndrome; and
- Asperger’s syndrome
Your duties as a developmental disability pediatric travel nurse may include:
- Assisting with feeding
- Helping children achieve independent mobility
- Assisting with bodily functions
- Educating and supporting parents
- Developing a child’s communication skills
- Educating children and their parents about medical equipment
#4: Pediatric Palliative Care
Pediatric palliative care nurses provide care for terminally ill children.
As a pediatric palliative travel nurse, you’ll work to help relieve their suffering and ensure the best quality of care through the living, dying, and family grieving processes.
Pediatric travel nursing in this field includes duties such as:
- Communicating clearly to parents
- Coordinating care with other healthcare professionals
- Staying with the child to identify their changing needs and maintain care
- Assisting with medical equipment
#5: Pediatric Endocrinology Nurse
Pediatric endocrinology nurses help children with a variety of endocrine disorders, including:
- Diabetes
- Thyroid disorders (hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism)
- Early-onset of puberty
- Delayed puberty
- Growth hormone deficiency (short stature)
- Turner syndrome
- Tumors
As a traveling pediatric endocrinology nurse, you would often work with children and teenagers with delayed physical and mental development.
Your duties might include:
- Working with doctors to develop, implement, and assess treatment plans
- Maintaining records to track progress
- Performing physical assessments
- Inserting catheters
- Drawing blood for lab tests
- Educating children and their parents
- Monitoring the effects of medications
How Do You Become a Pediatric Travel Nurse?
Becoming a pediatric travel nurse has never been easier.
There are four basic steps to becoming a pediatric travel nurse:
- Earn an RN nursing license from an accredited nursing school.
- Pass the NCLEX-RN.
- Work at least one year in a professional setting.
- Obtain any specialty certifications for your desired role.
Step #1: Become a Registered Nurse
If you’re just beginning your career search and wondering how to become a traveling pediatric nurse, know that the first step is the same for any nursing position — become an RN.
You need to graduate from an accredited nursing program with an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Your schooling may take two to four years depending on the requirements and your commitment.
Step #2: Pass the NCLEX-RN
You’ve graduated from nursing school and you’re one step closer to becoming a pediatric travel nurse.
The next step — pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN).
Tips from fellow nurses on how to pass the NCLEX-RN the first time include:
- Understand the NCLEX-RN format
- Don’t self-evaluate during the test
- Find ways to manage test stress
- Know your NCLEX-RN study style
- Make a study plan
- Hone your test-taking skills
- Invest in test prep resources
- Go beyond the practice questions
- Prepare for exam day
- Believe in yourself
Step #3: Gain Experience
You’re a licensed RN. Next up — experience.
Find an internship that allows you to work alongside a pediatric nurse practitioner or pediatrician. A pediatrics internship is usually about 12 weeks long and involves both practical training and classroom learning.
Once you have practical experience working with a pediatric specialist, begin applying for pediatric nursing positions.
You’ll typically need at least one year of pediatric nursing experience before applying to pediatric travel nursing positions.
Whether you’re new to the travel nursing job search, or you’re a seasoned professional, Trusted Nurse Staffing can help you find your dream job as a pediatric travel nurse.
Step #4: Obtain Special Certifications
When it comes to pediatric travel nursing, special certifications are often required. And even if they’re not, it’s often a good idea to have certain certifications to boost your resume and prepare for different areas of pediatric nursing.
In particular, a certified pediatric nurse (CPN) certification greatly increases your employability, enhances career mobility, and may raise your compensation. You can apply for this certification once you have over 1,800 hours of career experience as a pediatric nurse over 24 months.
Who Is the Best Candidate for Pediatric Travel Nurse Jobs?
To succeed in pediatrics, you need:
- Lightning-fast critical thinking skills
- Good instincts
- Patience
- Compassion; and
- The ability to follow your gut
If you have a hunch something doesn’t look quite right, you don’t have time to sit on it.
What Are the Pros (and Cons) of Pediatric Travel Nursing?
5 Pros of Pediatric Travel Nursing
#1: Great Pay and Benefits
An awesome advantage of pediatric travel nursing is the potential to make a six-figure salary.
Depending on the travel nursing agency you choose, you may receive great benefits as well.
At Trusted Nurse Staffing, we offer our nurses top benefits, including:
- The highest pay in the field
- Flexible contracts
- 24/7 access to your recruiter
- Weekly pay
- Housing, meal, and travel stipends
- Customized benefits package
- Employee-sponsored Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Insurance
- Guardian Dental and Vision Insurance
- And more
#2: Endless Adventure
Another plus of choosing to be a pediatric travel nurse is that you get to explore new places and meet patients and health care providers from across the country.
You’ll have the opportunity to visit places you might otherwise only dream of. And you may even find the perfect spot to settle down long-term, once your travel days have ended.
#3: Professional Growth
Pediatric travel nursing allows you to work in a variety of healthcare facilities, each with its own way of doing things.
You’ll be able to learn different ways of performing a task, work on state-of-the-art equipment, and serve alongside specialists in the field.
You’ll also have the opportunity to try out different specialties and expand your resume and experience — all of which will make you more employable in the future.
#4: Job Flexibility
Travel nurses enjoy greater job flexibility than staff nurses.
As a pediatric travel nurse, you’re not stuck applying for vacation and crossing your fingers. In between assignments, you can choose to take the summers off or give yourself extra time with family over the holidays.
#5: No Hospital Politics
Another great perk of travel nursing is the ability to avoid the sometimes nasty hospital politics.
Travelers generally are free and stay above the fray and out of the stream of political bureaucracy by skipping out on committees and unit meetings and focusing on what you came to do — pediatric nursing.
5 Cons of Pediatric Travel Nursing
#1: You’re Always the Newbie
As a pediatric travel nurse, you’ll show up to each new assignment, likely not knowing anybody on your floor.
If making friends is your specialty, you may feel up to the challenge of getting to know new coworkers. If you’re more of an introvert and struggle to reach out when you need help, moving to a new place every 13 weeks or so may leave you feeling a bit lonely.
#2: Varying Income
Unlike shift nurses who can count on a set yearly salary, when you’re a pediatric travel nurse, each contract may provide a varying pay rate, depending on the type of institution you’re working in and the part of the country.
For example, a hospital in California may pay you one amount for your contract, while a facility in Missouri may pay you considerably less for the same type of contract and work.
#3: You May Get Homesick
Traveling the country is a ton of fun, but after a while, you may find yourself becoming homesick for familiar surroundings and faces — or you may just want to sleep in your own bed.
If that happens, you can always take a break and move back home between assignments. Or, you may even have the option of choosing a pediatric travel nursing assignment that’s close to home, depending on availability.
#4: Away From Your Support Network
Most of us have an established support system at home that we know we can rely on when we need a helping hand.
Being away from friends and family can be one of the cons of travel nursing.
Maintaining regular contact by visiting on the phone, face timing, or even taking occasional visits back home can help keep you in touch with your core group of family and friends.
#5: Taxes Can Be Tricky
As a travel nurse, you may work in multiple states each year. This means you’ll be required to file multiple state tax returns.
While this can make your taxes a little more complicated than usual, getting your taxes done by a licensed professional can ensure you’re on top of expenses and deductions and make tax time less stressful.
How Long Are Pediatric Travel Nurse Assignments?
Pediatric travel nurse jobs typically last 13 weeks.
At the end of an assignment, you are free to:
- Accept another placement
- Take some time off between assignments; or
- Possibly get an extension on your current contract
How Much Do Traveling Pediatric Nurses Make?
A pediatric travel nurse’s salary averages $2,659 per week.
Salaries can vary by state and facility. When you work with your pediatric travel nursing recruiter, you’ll have access to salary information for assignments to help you make an informed decision about your placement.
Top 5 States for Pediatric Travel Nurse Jobs
Besides the high pay, traveling is one of the biggest perks of pediatric travel nursing.
Here are the top 5 states in the U.S. for pediatric travel nursing positions:
- District of Columbia: $75,609
- California: $74,916
- New Jersey: $74,773
- Alaska: $74,101
- Massachusetts: $73,917
Interested in Pediatric Travel Nurse Assignments? Let the Experts at Trusted Nurse Staffing Help You Find the Position That’s Right for You
Pediatric travel nursing is a dream job — and we can help turn that dream into a reality.
At Trusted Nurse Staffing, we:
- Help you fully customize your resume for the position you want.
- Listen to your goals, interests, and availability.
- Create a tailor-made list for you of possible assignments.
- Submit your resume to your top choices.
- Consult with you on all offers to ensure you get what you want.
- Act as a go-to for any needs or questions during an assignment.
- Continue to assist with negotiations and extensions.
- Help you choose your next adventure.
Are you ready to begin a great adventure in pediatric travel nursing? Find your dream job on Pronto today!
Recent Comments