Pediatric nursing focuses on the specialized care of infants, children, and adolescents, addressing their unique physiological, developmental, and psychosocial needs. It encompasses a wide range of topics, including growth and development, nutrition, common childhood illnesses, and the management of acute and chronic disorders across body systems.
For nursing students, understanding pediatric nursing is essential to providing safe, effective, and family-centered care to younger populations. This course equips students with the knowledge needed to recognize developmental milestones, identify and explain pediatric health conditions, and support children and their families—core foundations for both clinical practice and nursing licensure preparation.
Learning objectives
After the completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Describe the principles of growth and development across infancy, childhood, and adolescence, including expected milestones.
- Identify common infectious diseases in children, their modes of transmission, signs and symptoms, and prevention strategies.
- Explain fluid, electrolyte, and nutritional requirements in pediatric populations and their impact on health and illness.
- Summarize the etiology, presentation, and management considerations of gastrointestinal disorders in children.
- Discuss major endocrine disorders in pediatrics, including their pathophysiology and clinical manifestations.
- Explain common eye, ear, and throat disorders and their implications for child health and development.
- Recognize integumentary conditions that commonly affect children and their underlying causes.
- Describe the presentation and management principles of pediatric respiratory and cardiovascular disorders.
- Summarize neurologic disorders and inborn errors of metabolism affecting children, including key clinical features.
- Explain the characteristics of pediatric blood disorders and their effects on growth, development, and overall health.
Course outline
- Growth and Development
- Infectious Diseases
- Fluids, Electrolytes, Nutrition
- Gastrointestinal Disorders
- Endocrine Disorders
- Eye, Ear, and Throat Disorders
- Integumentary Disorders
- Respiratory Disorders
- Cardiovascular Disorders
- Neurologic Disorders
- Inborn Errors of Metabolism
- Blood Disorders