Imagine helping children to recover and also building a career that takes you across the country- Welcome to the world of pediatric PACU travel nursing. Pediatric PACU is the unit in hospitals for children, where you see tiny hands wrapped in gauze and hear the beeping of monitors. If you love to take care of these children and help them in their recovery, but also want to travel the world, then pediatric PACU travel nursing is just the right option for you. This blog is the ultimate guide to pediatric PACU travel nursing, so let’s dive in!
What is pediatric PACU travel nursing?
Pediatric PACU travel nurses work on short-term contracts in different healthcare facilities across the country to provide care for the children recovering from anesthesia following surgery. PACU stands for Post-Anesthesia Care Unit, and pediatric PACU ( Post-Anesthesia Care Unit) is where the children are treated.
What does a pediatric PACU travel nurse do?
Some of the roles and responsibilities of a pediatric PACU travel nurse are as follows:
- Monitoring vital signs of the children after surgery and looking for any kind of complications.
- Managing pain and administering medications to the children.
- Communicating and comforting pediatric patients. giving them emotional support.
- Documenting everything that includes medications, interventions, etc, of pediatric patients in PACU.
How to become a pediatric PACU travel nurse?
- If you are a pediatric PACU nurse and want to travel, then becoming a pediatric PACU travel nurse is a great option. But to become a pediatric PACU travel nurse, you need the following requirements.
- An active RN license or a compact nursing license is preferable so you can work in multiple states without applying for additional licenses to save both time and money.
- PALS certification (Pediatric Advanced Life Support), which will help you a lot in this field and will increase your chances of getting the job that you want.
- At least 1 to 2 years of experience in a pediatric or PACU setting. This experience will help you take over the job at the new location easily without any difficulty.
What is a pediatric PACU travel nurse checklist?
Because, as a pediatric PACU nurse, you are dealing with children therefore both clinical skills and soft skills are required to be a successful pediatric PACU travel nurse. Some of the skills required to be a pediatric PACU travel nurse are as follows:
- Strong observation abilities to see minor changes in children’s condition.
- Quick thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication skills with the children, their families, and other healthcare teams to ensure effective care.
- Flexibility and adaptability to change.
- Professionalism.
- Multitasking and time management skills.
- Keep calm under pressure.
- Great clinical skills.
- Emotional resilience and cultural sensitivity.
What are the benefits of becoming a pediatric PACU travel nurse?
There are a lot of benefits to becoming a pediatric PACU travel nurse, but it has its challenges, too. If you have the right training, knowledge, and skills in this field, then you can be a successful pediatric PACU travel nurse, taking care of children across the country where there is a shortage of staff to continue providing effective care. Some of the pros and cons of becoming a pediatric PACU travel nurse are as follows:
Pros:
- High pay and job stability.
- Flexibility and freedom.
- Personal and professional growth due to working in different healthcare facilities in various states.
- Opportunity to work in top children’s hospitals, especially if you are SkillGigs travel nurse.
- Other benefits such as housing and travel stipends, paid time off, health insurance, life insurance, etc.
Cons:
Some of the challenges that a pediatric PACU travel nurse might face are as follows:
- Because travel nurses work on short-term contracts so their location changes frequently. Adjusting to the new environment, hospitals and the healthcare team can be challenging.
- Working with children can be more challenging than working with adults.
- Licensure requirements, staying up to date, and continuing education can be overwhelming sometimes.
- Short orientation time and less time to adjust to the system, procedure, and protocols of the healthcare facility.
Tips on how to become a successful pediatric PACU travel nurse
- Always keep your license up to date.
- Apply for a compact state nursing license so you can work in multiple states.
- Make sure to research the facilities before applying for jobs.
- Be flexible and adapt to the changes.
- Invest in continuing education, as this will help you get travel nursing jobs quickly.
- Be open and adaptable to changing situations.
Working with SkillGigs as a pediatric PACU travel nurse
SkillGigs is an AI platform marketplace that connects healthcare workers, such as travel pediatric PACU travel nurses, with travel job opportunities across the country. AI technology matches you to the job that matches your specialty and skills, and you can bid on your desired jobs. Here is the list of benefits of working as a travel nurse with SkillGigs!
- Higher earnings, bonuses, and incentives.
- Control over your assignments.
- No middleman, and you can directly interact with hospitals.
Conclusion
The world of pediatric PACU travel nursing – where you help children recover post-surgery while traveling across the country and making a difference in the world of healthcare. To become a pediatric PACU travel nurse with SkillGigs, you need to have at least 1 to 2 years of experience in a PACU setting. To be successful in this career, you need to have both clinical skills and soft skills such as effective communication, adaptability, critical thinking, and problem-solving. No doubt pediatric PACU travel nursing helps you grow personally and professionally, but it has its challenges too, such as less orientation time, difficulty in adjusting to a new environment, and working with healthcare team members. If you want to be a successful pediatric PACU travel nurse, then join Skill Gigs now and build a strong resume with the help of our 3D resume so that you are visible to potential employers. Bid on the jobs that you want and negotiate directly with healthcare facilities. So why wait? Join SkillGigs now and become part of our travel nursing world.
