Objective: This study was conducted to reveal the thoughts and pediatric nurses' experiences of clinical practices.Methods: This study was designed as a qualitative phenomenological study. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with 17 nurses working in pediatric wards. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis.Results: The themes that mostly emerged based on the question of what it means to be a nurse in a pediatric ward were “love for children”, “being selfless” and “empathizing”. According to the participants’ responses, the factors that made it difficult to be a nurse in a pediatric ward were “presence of a parent”. Pediatric wards were determined to be different from other wards in terms of the following: “invasive procedures undergone by pediatric patients”, “presence of a parent” and “calculations of medication dosages”. When the participants were asked, “What is it like being a nurse in a pediatric ward?”, the majority of them responded to the question as “mother”. Although many factors make it difficult to be a nurse in pediatric wards in Turkey, nurses want to work under the leadership of "love of children".Conclusion: Being a nurse in a pediatric ward is different from being a nurse in other clinics in many ways because nurses working in this field should try to overcome difficulties by exhibiting love for children, being selfless and empathizing.
Karaarslan et al. (Mon,) studied this question.