Challenges in Child Health Nursing

 Following are the problems faced by Nursing Professionals in Child Health Nursing:-

 1) Genetic Disorders: With the help of decoding and sequencing of the human genome, the diagnosis of genetic disorders has become accurate. At the present time, researchers and scientists are facing problems in identifying strengths and limitations of the genome versus exome sequencing to detect the genetic causes of primary immune deficiencies and then use the information for clinical applications. 

 2) Communication problems: Nurses listen to their patient's concerns and answer their questions about medical procedures and treatments to help them understand their plans of care. Because pediatric nurses are caring for children, they may experience challenges in communicating with their patients, particularly if a child is too young to understand why they require medical treatment. Other children may be nervous about their treatment, which may cause them to become unresponsive and refuse to answer a nurse's questions. To resolve these challenges, pediatric nurses often use their creativity to develop alternative methods of communication.

3) Prenatal Diagnosis: Advancements in prenatal epidemiology helps in early identification and treatment of congenital heart malformations. Epidemiological, clinical, cellular, and molecular studies suggest that the foetal life conditions play a critical role in developmental programming. 

4) Workplace hazards:- Working as a pediatric nurse may put these professionals in contact with various workplace hazards. A pediatric nurse may become exposed to a virus or pathogen through contact with a patient's bodily fluids. They may work with chemicals, such as those found in chemotherapy medications. Pediatric nurses are often responsible for carrying or lifting patients, which can cause them physical strain. While they take many precautions to ensure their safety, these workplace hazards can be a risk for pediatric nurses.

5) Prematurity: With the improvement of prenatal screening and diagnosis, identification of high-risk neonates allowed the referral for delivery near high level neonatal intensive care units, with substantial benefits for neonatal outcomes. 

6) Frustrated parents:- Pediatric nurses may encounter parents or caregivers who feel frustrated with their child's treatment plan. At times, these parents may become angry with pediatric nurses, such as when nurses are communicating a physician's changes to a child's medical treatment or discussing an unexpected complication. Nurses in this field can remember that parents and caregivers may be stressed or worried about their child's health. They can show these parents compassion and offer their support to help them through the situation.

4) Neonatal Physiology: With the introduction of 3-D cardiac magnetic resonance with phase-contrast imaging, information on physiology of blood circulation in neonates can be easily obtained. Also, this technique can be performed without sedating or anaesthetising the neonates. 

5) Traumas: Recent studies have shown that the permanent disability due to traumatic brain injuries in children is mainly accounted for by mild injuries (and not by severe injuries). Consequently, steps should be taken to prevent mild and severe injuries so that the levels of disability after traumatic brain injuries can be reduced. 

6) Introducing New Devices and New Drugs: Research and development of drugs and devices for paediatric patients is complicated due to small patient population, characteristics of paediatric physiology and pathophysiology, and practical and ethical difficulties in designing pre-clinical and clinical trials. In pre-clinical trials, identifying appropriate experimental models, clinically significant efficacy end points, assessment of risks and benefits, and methods to monitor cardiovascular safety, are challenging. 

7) Education and Training of Care-givers: Providing training on non-technical skills is enhancing the safety of patients. Still a recognized educational model to support the design of patient safety is not available; however, a number of theories are there to guide educators in future instructional designs.

8) Schedule:-Many pediatric nurses, particularly those who work in hospitals, work long shifts. Often, these nurses work 12-hour shifts three days a week. It can be challenging for nurses to take breaks during their shifts because they're often responsible for monitoring many patients at one time. Sometimes, a nurse manager may ask a pediatric nurse to work overtime if there are staffing shortages or patient emergencies. Pediatric nurses often work on weekends and holidays, which means they may have less time to spend with family and friends.