What is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner?
Pediatric
Nurse Practitioners (PNPs) are Registered Nurses who have acquired knowledge
and clinical skills in child health care through successful completion
of a formal education program. They practice under their state Nurse Practice
Act, and in accordance with individual state laws and regulations. National
certification as a PNP currently requires a master's degree in nursing.
PNPs serve as pediatric health care providers for well and ill children from birth to early adulthood in a variety of health care settings such as private clinics, community clinics, public health clinics, school health clinics, specialty clinics, and hospitals. Some PNPs choose to acquire in-depth knowledge and unique skills to provide care to a specific category of patients, such as orthopedics, neurology, or children with special health care needs.
Many parents choose a PNP as their child's health care provider knowing they will receive individualized quality health care. PNPs offer a variety of services including:
- Providing health maintenance care for children, including well child examinations
- Performing routine developmental screenings
- Diagnosing and treating common childhood illnesses
- Providing anticipatory guidance regarding common child health concerns
- Providing childhood immunizations
- Performing school physicals
- Providing contraceptive services
Working from a nursing model, PNPs provide comprehensive health services by teaching, counseling and advising children and their families about growth and development, health status, illnesses, management plans and health promotion, and disease and injury prevention activities. They provide appropriate child and family education regarding purpose, timing, side effects, and possible interaction of medications and/or treatments, cost, and alternative treatments or procedures.
Maintaining professional accountability is important to PNPs. To accomplish this, they participate in appropriate professional organizations, demonstrate professional competency through ongoing peer review of clinical pediatric practice and participating in relevant continuing education and certification maintenance programs, modify practice based upon research advances, and monitor public issues that impact the health of children and their families.