Work at a children's hospital? Yes, please!

Today was one of those days when I thought to myself, "I really enjoy this job". Now, I'll preface this by saying that there have been many times in the past 6 years that I've wondered why on earth I picked nursing in the first place, and I'd have a nice long chat with someone before advising them to chose nursing.  But, this job is by far my favorite out of the 5 I've had in the past 6 years. (Lest you think I'm a job hopper....I've only changed jobs twice out of pure desire to do so; the other times were school-related).  So, here are my top 10 reasons someone should work in a pediatric sub-specialty:

10: You'll never have to buy a baby name book when you have children...your patient population will have plenty of do's and don'ts to chose from. For the record, just because you have the same last name as a celebrity does not mean you should give your child the celebrity's first name.
9: Giving parenting advice when I've never tried any of it myself because I don't have any children yet. I'm sure I'll laugh at some of it when I do!
8: Stickers. Who doesn't like getting to hand out Princess, Dora, Thomas the Train, and Spider Man stickers??
7::  It's so much fun to watch your patients grow over time. You see them as a new born, and all of a sudden they're walking and starting to talk.
6: Children can be so funny, sweet, and brutally honest all at once. I really enjoy getting to talk to them, try to make them comfortable, and hear in their words what the problem is and what they think is causing it.
5: Sub-specialty. A lot of the perks of primary care, plus a more easily controlled schedule and the very easy access to other sub-specialties. Also, I can probably count on one hand the number of unfriendly people I've ever met who work at a children's hospital.
4: Parents. Every child has them, and sometimes they're easier to work with than others. But I love being able to take the time to explain what is going on with their child in a way that makes sense and is easy to understand. If you can do this successfully the first time, you just made future interactions with this family so much easier for all parties involved.
3: I now know The Fox and the Hound, the songs in the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, and the tune to the Garfield movie menu screen almost by heart...they've been playing in the Peds Urology rooms since I got here 10 months ago. And no, I don't pick which movies are played.
2:  No two days or two patients are alike.
1: Did I mention I really enjoy working with children and their families? I'm so thankful to have this job and these patients for this season of life!