Why no NICU?

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  1. This is a discussion on Why no NICU? in Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), part of Advanced Practice Nursing ... Just curious if anyone has any idea why some CRNA schools wont accept NICU as critical care...

    by Jan 30, '11
    Just curious if anyone has any idea why some CRNA schools wont accept NICU as critical care experience, yet some do? I'm in my 2nd semester of getting my BSN (this is my 2nd degree, 3 semesters to go, woohoo!) and our last semester will encompass just working with a preceptor, ideally in a field you want to work in and can hopefully get hired on in after graduation. I am heavily considering CRNA school, so I will probably try to spend my last semester in an ICU setting. Should I avoid PICU or NICU?
    Thanks for any advice.
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    by goldens1 Jan 30, '11 8:56 pm
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  3. 14 Comments so far...

  4. Jan 31, '11 by
    Since most of your schooling as a CRNA will involve adults, probably better to work in an adult ICU.
  5. Jan 31, '11 by
    It probably depends on the level of NICU care. If you're doing routine ECMO, High Frequency Ventilation, drips, etc...then that should totally count. Lower acuity NICUs can be like a newborn nursery. Most likely, if the school accepts NICU, then they will really be interested the acuity of your patients since it varies so much.

    I'm in a PICU, and the CRNA interviewer was mostly curious about the bigger kids I've taken care of. The bigger kids were more likely to get some of the heavier drips and adult-like respiratory management.

    PICU can be the best of both worlds. My youngest patient was a few days old and my oldest was 26 yrs old.

    Hope that helps. Good luck.
  6. Jan 31, '11 by
    I have also heard some schools don't accept NICU experience for CRNA. I don't know of any NICU nurses going on to CRNA school either. I think it is because NICU is a whole lot different than other ICUs and basically most specialties as well. There are no CRNAs that deal exclusively with newborns so having a broader range of patient ages is more helpful. Plus, compared to other ICUs, NICU can sometimes be less intensive than what is considered critical in other ICUs. Don't get me wrong, because there definitely can be really sick babies in the NICU, but there are also many easy "feeder grower" babies in the NICU too that don't need as much medical attention.

    PICU on the other hand is very good experience for CRNA application. I know of a few PICU nurses who are going for there CRNA right now.
  7. Jan 31, '11 by
    Since most of your education will be about adults, then you should seek experience in an adult ICU. Or a year of each.
  8. Jan 31, '11 by
    It is so specialized that the work is not applicable to the greater population.
    NRSKarenRN likes this.
  9. Jan 31, '11 by
    I work in a NICU and people do have to leave to get experience elsewhere if they want to go CRNA. The reason being mostly is that we do not sedate and use anesthesia in the NICU as it is used in other patient populations, neonates are a very different population, the drugs we use are different, the amounts we use is different. PICU will likely get you the experience you need.
  10. Feb 1, '11 by
    thanks a lot everyone. all your points make perfect sense ;-). just good to hear it from people that actually know what they're talking about. I really love this site!
  11. Mar 1, '11 by
    Quote from goldens1
    Just curious if anyone has any idea why some CRNA schools wont accept NICU as critical care experience, yet some do? I'm in my 2nd semester of getting my BSN (this is my 2nd degree, 3 semesters to go, woohoo!) and our last semester will encompass just working with a preceptor, ideally in a field you want to work in and can hopefully get hired on in after graduation. I am heavily considering CRNA school, so I will probably try to spend my last semester in an ICU setting. Should I avoid PICU or NICU?
    Thanks for any advice.
    The NICU is not going to give you the critical care experience you need as a CRNA...our patient population is highly specialized, the number of medications we use is somewhat narrow.

    I have co-workers that have gone to FNP school and they all said it was one of their biggest challenges..learning about "adult stuff".

    Working with adults will give you the best experience..especially with disease process...infants in the NICU are not really sick..they usually have "conditions" rather than infectious illnesses.
  12. Mar 23, '11 by
    Quote from umcRN
    I work in a NICU and people do have to leave to get experience elsewhere if they want to go CRNA. The reason being mostly is that we do not sedate and use anesthesia in the NICU as it is used in other patient populations, neonates are a very different population, the drugs we use are different, the amounts we use is different. PICU will likely get you the experience you need.
    I disagree, the sedation etc you do in the ICU is probably the least important experience you take with you to CRNA school. It's more the knowledge of managing multiple disease processes, hemodynamic monitoring, pharmacology of pressors etc. I had only PICU experience and did fine in school though I wish I had done some adult ICU first. For example I had never evenb seen a phenylephrine gtt until I started clinical. Where I did clinical there was one CRNA who had NICU only before school and she admitted it was really a struggle. She is extremely smart and hard working though. IMO adult SICU oir CTICU is the best prep though if you like peds you can get by with PICU. The PICU experience will help you if you want to do pedi anesthesia which is a small niche that seems to be growing in demand.