Specializing in pediatric nursing is a great career path. You help children daily by providing them with quality care and providing opportunities for better health outcomes for them in the future. But when you consider furthering your education to pursue this noble profession, remember that you must balance work and life to enjoy your best life.
Going to School to be a PNP
As a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP), you can provide primary and acute care for children. To prepare you to work in these two environments, you must be a practising RN and obtain the necessary schooling. A Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) – Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program is needed to become a PNP. If you are a pediatric nurse practitioner, then you will have completed primarily online coursework and had clinical placements conveniently provided for you. The flexibility that comes with an online education cannot be overstated. For example, you can continue to work at your nursing job while attending school to offset tuition costs.
When attending school, you can balance work and school well when you keep an online calendar of work shifts, course assignment deadlines, and test dates. Then, you will be able to complete homework and study when not working, based on what the calendar shows are happening each day. Be sure to fit in extra-curricular activities, as well, such as sports and coffee dates with your partner, so that you can relax and unwind. Being all that you can be requires time to recharge your batteries so that you can start tomorrow full of energy and ready to help others.
Making an effort to achieve this sense of balance now will provide you with the practice to do the same thing when you graduate from an accredited online program like the one at Baylor University to become a PNP.
Achieving the Good Life as a Graduate
As a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, you can expect to be in high demand. By having attended Baylor, you have gained experience in both acute and primary care environments, which means that you have the skills to work in a range of situations and the experience from clinical practice to do so confidently.
When you accept the job that meets your expectations for salary, hours, and more, then you can look forward to doing what makes you happy, which is caring for children. You will also be assisting the families of these young patients as you help parents to understand what a diagnosis means and how to educate them about how to treat their child at home. As well, you will play an important role in calming them during scary moments, such as when their boy or girl is scheduled for surgery.
As you embark on this influential career path, know that you are living the “good life” in that you are earning a respectable income doing what you love. That is a luxury that not everyone can say, and you have worked hard to get here. After putting in your time in a DNP-PNP program from a leading educational institution like Baylor, you deserve to enjoy the years ahead. Rather than waking up in the morning with a sense of dread that you do not like what you’re doing for work, you can instead rise eagerly to help those who can benefit from your skills, knowledge, and experience.
Being in a position professionally to provide the care that kids need, when they need it, is very rewarding. Also, you will see the outcomes of your patient care when they return home and are in a better state of health because of the actions of you and your team.
When Work-Life Balance Gets Difficult as a Nurse
As with most jobs, though, there is a certain level of stress that comes with having a nursing career. It can be easy to take your work home with you, too, meaning that you will carry the emotions of the day into your personal life. For example, if you met a new patient with a critical illness in the afternoon, you might continue to think about that child and how to help them at night, instead of taking time for yourself by getting deep sleep.
Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and other types of nurses must make time to unwind after their shifts. You must follow this advice to be at your best for the patients you will see tomorrow and the day after that. Otherwise, you risk becoming burned out, which is commonly characterized by mental exhaustion, feeling agitated, and losing the joy you once at work. Neglecting your health is not something that you would wish for your young patients or their families, so why would you do that as a PNP? Be sure to take care of your own needs so that you can then help others, which is part of a full life.
A Few Last Words on Maintaining a High-Quality Life
The workday of a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner is one that is busy and exciting. It is a career that is high in demand, which makes it more essential than ever that you have a proper work-life balance. Only then can you live your best life and enjoy the luxury that comes with that. Start to practice what it means to have a good work-life balance during your online DNP-PNP program. Then, carry through the healthy habits you’ve learned while attending school to your life as a graduate.
Keep your energy levels high by eating balanced meals and exercising regularly. If you feel yourself getting tired, then use your off-work time to catch up on sleep or see loved ones. Relaxing is a great way to enjoy your downtime outside of the workplace, and then when you return to the hospital or another work environment, you will be able to give 100 percent to your patients.
Your chosen profession is an admirable one, and you deserve to pamper yourself when not at work. Enjoy your best life, every day, starting today.
Carol
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