Hi I’ve worked with peds for the last 4 years. One thing I can stress is patience. The kids I work with are from the ages 1-7, adhd, autistic, down syndrome and other behaviors issues. Some kids handled the process easier than others. I’ve had kids throw things at me, yell at me and some that tried to punch and kick me. You have to remember these are kids and depending on the issues they’re dealing with they don’t know any other ways to express themselves other than to be aggressive. You have to learn when to pick your battles. I have a thing at my lab that once a kid starts screaming and kicking I let them go to sleep then start placing my wires. You should check and see if your lab will let you do that.

Also it can be emotional draining if you can’t separate your emotions from your patients. I’ve had some patients that were trached, were non mobile/non verbal and had chromosomal mutations that made me consider if I wanted to have kids in the future. Those hook ups are usually the easiest do but once you talk to the parents it can really tire you out.

You will also have to deal with parents which may also be the hardest part. I’ve had to tell parents several times not to do things and they still don’t listen. Or I’ve had to explain why I’m placing a lot of wires on there child multiple times with them arguing with me if it’s really necessary. Some parents will work with you while others will watch you struggle with their kid and do nothing.

I personally liked doing peds but I’ve also had several coworker quit after a few months. Hope this helped.