Paediatric Nurse Job Description
Hire a Registered Paediatric Nurse to deliver safe, family-centred care for infants, children and adolescents across hospital or community settings.
What does a Paediatric Nurse professional do?
A Registered Nurse specialising in paediatrics who assesses, plans and delivers nursing care to children and their families; works within multidisciplinary teams and follows paediatric clinical governance and safeguarding standards.
Paediatric Nurse job description template
Use this employer-ready example as a starting point, then replace the placeholders and adjust the content so it accurately reflects your vacancy.
Paediatric Nurse (Registered Nurse - Paediatrics)
About the role
[Employer] is recruiting a Registered Paediatric Nurse to join our [ward/service] in [Location]. You will provide compassionate nursing care to children and young people, support families, participate in clinical assessment and treatment, and maintain clear records. This is a [Hours] position at [Band/Grade]; rota includes shift working, with opportunities for professional development and specialist training.
Key responsibilities
- Provide safe, age-appropriate nursing care to infants, children and adolescents in line with local clinical guidelines.
- Carry out clinical assessments, record observations, recognise deterioration and escalate appropriately.
- Administer medications, IV fluids and prescribed treatments, maintaining accurate drug records.
- Support children and families with education, reassurance and discharge planning.
- Work within the multidisciplinary team to coordinate care, attend ward rounds and handovers.
- Maintain safeguarding standards, complete required documentation and participate in child-protection procedures.
- Perform practical skills such as venepuncture, cannulation and basic wound care where competent and authorised.
- Contribute to audits, quality improvement and the implementation of local clinical policies.
Essential skills and experience
- Current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a Registered Nurse.
- Recent clinical experience caring for children and young people in a clinical setting (hospital, ED, community or outpatient).
- Ability to work rota-driven shift patterns including evenings, nights and weekends as required.
- Awareness of safeguarding legislation and procedures for children and young people.
- Excellent communication skills with children, families and multidisciplinary colleagues.
- Enhanced DBS clearance (or ability to obtain one) and right to work in the UK.
Desirable
- Paediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) or equivalent paediatric resuscitation training.
- Experience with neonatal care or emergency paediatric assessment.
- Competence in paediatric IV therapy, blood sampling and pain assessment tools.
- Completed preceptorship or mentoring qualifications for newly qualified paediatric nurses.
- Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) in paediatric nursing.
What we offer
- [Workplace pension scheme]
- [Paid annual leave entitlement + bank holidays]
- [Paid study leave and funded CPD opportunities]
- [Access to staff health and wellbeing services]
- [Preceptorship or clinical mentorship programme]
- [Flexible shift-swapping and rostering support]
How to apply
Apply with your CV and any additional information requested. Make the interview process, closing date and any assessment stages clear where known.
Use this as a starting point rather than a final advert. The strongest version will reflect the real role, salary, location, systems, responsibilities, benefits and working arrangements.
What is a Paediatric Nurse role?
Paediatric nurses are registered nurses who assess, plan and deliver care specifically for infants, children and adolescents. They work across inpatient wards, emergency departments, outpatient clinics and community services, supporting families and coordinating with therapists and doctors. The role requires clinical skills for paediatric assessment, medication administration, safeguarding awareness and clear communication tailored to children and carers.
Typical settings
Inpatient paediatric wards, emergency departments, neonatal units, outpatient clinics and community children’s services.
Core duties
Clinical assessment, medication administration, family education, safeguarding, documentation and multidisciplinary coordination.
Career development
Routes include specialist practice (neonatal, oncology, critical care), senior nurse roles, advanced clinical practice and education/management.
Key requirement
Current NMC registration and suitability to work with children (enhanced DBS).
Typical Paediatric Nurse responsibilities
Responsibilities should reflect the real scope of the vacancy rather than every task someone in this profession might ever complete.
Provide safe
Provide safe, age-appropriate nursing care to infants, children and adolescents in line with local clinical guidelines.
Carry out clinical assessments
Carry out clinical assessments, record observations, recognise deterioration and escalate appropriately.
Administer medications
Administer medications, IV fluids and prescribed treatments, maintaining accurate drug records.
Support children
Support children and families with education, reassurance and discharge planning.
Work within the multidisciplinary team
Work within the multidisciplinary team to coordinate care, attend ward rounds and handovers.
Maintain safeguarding standards
Maintain safeguarding standards, complete required documentation and participate in child-protection procedures.
Perform practical skills such as venepuncture
Perform practical skills such as venepuncture, cannulation and basic wound care where competent and authorised.
Contribute
Contribute to audits, quality improvement and the implementation of local clinical policies.
Paediatric Nurse skills and experience to look for
Keep the essential list focused on what the person really needs to perform the role. Move useful-but-trainable experience into desirable criteria.
Usually worth prioritising
- Current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a Registered Nurse.
- Recent clinical experience caring for children and young people in a clinical setting (hospital, ED, community or outpatient).
- Ability to work rota-driven shift patterns including evenings, nights and weekends as required.
- Awareness of safeguarding legislation and procedures for children and young people.
- Excellent communication skills with children, families and multidisciplinary colleagues.
- Enhanced DBS clearance (or ability to obtain one) and right to work in the UK.
Useful where relevant
- Paediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) or equivalent paediatric resuscitation training.
- Experience with neonatal care or emergency paediatric assessment.
- Competence in paediatric IV therapy, blood sampling and pain assessment tools.
- Completed preceptorship or mentoring qualifications for newly qualified paediatric nurses.
- Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) in paediatric nursing.
See our guide to what to include in a job advert before publishing.
How to write a Paediatric Nurse job advert
Small role-specific details can make the advert much easier for suitable candidates to assess.
Be specific about the clinical setting
State whether the role is ward-based, ED, neonatal or community — candidates search for particular paediatric environments.
State shift pattern and hours clearly
Include typical rota details (days/nights/long days/weekends) so applicants can assess suitability up front.
List essential clinical competences
Specify which paediatric skills are required on day one and which can be learned in post (for example PALS or cannulation).
Highlight support and development
Mention preceptorship, mentorship and CPD allowances to attract both experienced nurses and newly qualified paediatric practitioners.
Paediatric Nurse salary considerations
Pay for paediatric nurses varies according to the employer, pay framework, seniority and location. Typical factors employers should consider when setting salary are:
depending on experience
- Use a genuine range
- Separate variable pay
- Avoid “competitive” alone
- Match salary to seniority
What Paediatric Nurse candidates will want to know
Practical details can influence whether a suitable candidate applies, even when the title and salary are attractive.
What are the usual shift patterns and hours?
Candidates will want to know typical rotas, frequency of nights and ability to request shift swaps or flexible working.
Which pay band/grade applies?
Experienced nurses expect clarity about pay frameworks or bandings and any unsocial-hours enhancements.
What training and CPD support is available?
Applicants look for funded courses, study leave, PALS provision and time for mandatory training.
What is the patient mix and clinical acuity?
Candidates need to know age ranges, common conditions and whether the role includes high-dependency or neonatal care.
What supervision and preceptorship are provided?
Newly qualified or relocating nurses will ask about mentors, induction length and ongoing supervision.
Are there mandatory checks and immunisation requirements?
Employers should confirm enhanced DBS, occupational health clearance and any required vaccinations or immunity checks.
Where to post a Paediatric Nurse job
This role should be advertised where registered nurses specialising in children look for work: national and regional healthcare job boards, NHS trust recruitment pages (for NHS roles), specialist nursing sites and professional networks. Include community channels and paediatric nurse forums to reach candidates with the specific clinical experience you need, and consider LinkedIn or local university nursing schools to attract newly qualified or relocating clinicians.
Paediatric Nurse job description FAQs
Do candidates need NMC registration?
Yes. Applicants must hold current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to practice as a paediatric nurse in the UK.
How should employers check clinical competence?
Use a combination of CV review, clinical interview, scenario-based questions and a skills assessment or observed practice where feasible; request references covering recent paediatric experience.
Is an enhanced DBS required?
Roles working with children will require an enhanced DBS check. Employers should state whether an existing clear DBS is acceptable or one will be sought as part of recruitment.
Can newly qualified nurses apply?
Employers can welcome newly qualified nurses if they provide a structured preceptorship and supervised induction; make this clear in the advert to attract entry-level applicants.
What evidence of safeguarding is expected?
Candidates should be able to demonstrate safeguarding training and knowledge of local child protection procedures; detail required training level in the job description.
Ready to advertise this role?
Use the template content to create a clear vacancy advert and publish it across targeted job boards and professional channels to reach qualified paediatric nurses. Include rota details, development opportunities and essential requirements to improve response quality.
