Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

A Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) is a primary care and specialist who cares for children from infancy to early adulthood.  They can care for their patients in an outpatient clinic setting, long-term care facility or in the hospital, and depending on the state, may be able to practice independently.  They care for patients with acute and chronic health issues and order lab or diagnostic testing, prescribe medications within their scope, assess symptoms, and diagnose health conditions.

This specialty is classified as an advanced practice registered nurse, which requires a master’s degree in the Science of Nursing (MSN).  A nurse needs to obtain an associate degree or bachelor’s degree prior to enrolling in a master’s program and also typically one year of experience working as a registered nurse is needed before the nurse practitioner program, and obtaining certification as an advanced practice nurse.

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner organizations and certifications:

• American Association of Nurse Practitioners
• American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
• American Nurses Credentialing Center
• National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)

Expert 7437

Expert 7437 has been a registered nurse since 1990 and was in active military service until 2017 when she retired.  She obtained her Master’s in Nursing as a Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in 1999 and has years of experience caring for pediatric patients in the outpatient setting.  This expert is currently a nursing educator at a college and has been doing legal nursing since 2018.  She is currently living and working in Florida but is available nationwide.