[georgiagalRN]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum. But I have been an NICU nurse for 6 years but have worked in my nicu for 10 years now. My aunt is a NICU nurse, so I guess it's in my blood. I honestly couldn't think of anything else I would want to do with my life. I have found this job to be my calling in life. We had a set of 25 wk triplets about 4 years ago that all survived but all have deficits. They are the sweetest babies in the world. Another co-worker and myself, still to this day, go and baby-sit for the parents so that they can have an "adult" evening alone, with no kids. It is so rewarding to see this little beings grow into so much more. To see where they began and where they are now is the best reason I love the NICU!! Thanks everyone for listening!

[danissa]

Originally Posted by RNCRICE

Wow. I love NICU nurses!! I've been doing it for 35+ yrs, starting in 1970. Enormous changes from days when a 33 weeker was not "salvageable". Now we're debating the ethics of resucitating 23-24 weekers. I think about the littlest brains are a clean slate. Everything we do to and for them leaves your mark for their whole life. It's awesome, but a huge responsibilty. Everything we do has to viewed from that perspective. "If I do this, will it make him better or worse? If I don't do it, will hw survive?" Heavy, but you need to know all this before making a decision. BUT it's still the greatest job in the world.

Got it to a TEE! Yep....Still the Greatest job in the whole wide world!!

[spoiled_lil_sister]

I LOVE THIS THREAD!!! Sorry, this will probably be long but it feels so great to say it to those who understand where I'm coming from.

Isn't it funny how life works? I'm 31 years old & about 5 weeks from starting my 1st semester of nursing school. Looking back, I can never remember NOT wanting to be a nurse. During high school, I was gearing up to go to college to get my RN by taking Health Occupations Education and working for a couple of internal medicine MD's, an OB/GYN, and a group of family docs. My health side-lined me for a few years - For my spirit, it has truly turned out to be a blessing in disguise. (I have severe endometriosis & have had several laporoscopies, the last one resulting in an oophorectomy.) Because of my health & my parents' financial situation, I had to drop the whole nurse dream & go to work to pay for my surgery bills & for things I needed in life in general. One job lead to another, where I stayed for a long time & was great at, but something left a burning desire in my days. Anyone who knows me knows how I love to hold & talk about babies & children. Talking to a co-worker, we discovered my long-time desire to become a RN & that her brother-in-law was a level 3 NICU RN at a local hospital. He got me a position to volunteer in the NICU. Although it was a lot of work - cleaning carts & beds, washing sheets, etc, - I did get to cuddle a lot of stable babies. I knew then that this was for me. With the great chance that I cannot have my own babies, then I can get paid to take great care of other peoples' little ones and never have to pay for any of their needs or wait up for them at curfew, etc! A friend of mine made the decision around this time to go back to the community college & get her ADN. I have joined her, knowing that we will have to go through a lot of crap taking care of adults to get to these angels. I can guarantee you that many nights when I'm up late & get discouraged that I'll be referring to this site. Thanks to all of you for your honest, sincere, heartfelt stories & experiences. Keep them coming - there are up-and-comers that need you to get through the hard times!

[TerreP]

I'm also a nursing student, 6 weeks from the end of my second semester, and the only thing I want to do is work in NICU!!! I'm hoping to get into a nurse extern program in NICU, and then I am applying for the new grad program at the children's hospital here. I know other nurses say you should start in Med-Surg and get a well-rounded experience, but I've been a health unit coordinator in Med-Surg, telemetry, dialysis, oncology, and ER, and I know I want to work with the little ones!!!! I have four children, all grown, with 3 grandchildren and another one on the way, and nothing is better than babies! My first grandson was in the NICU (he was a month preemie and needed "a little more time to bake" as the doc said!) and I spent a lot of hours in the NICU with Jayden. I absolutely fell in love with it, and knew that is the field of nursing I wanted to do! My dream is slowly getting closer...December of 2008!!!!

Originally Posted by spoiled_lil_sister

I LOVE THIS THREAD!!! Sorry, this will probably be long but it feels so great to say it to those who understand where I'm coming from.

Isn't it funny how life works? I'm 31 years old & about 5 weeks from starting my 1st semester of nursing school. Looking back, I can never remember NOT wanting to be a nurse. During high school, I was gearing up to go to college to get my RN by taking Health Occupations Education and working for a couple of internal medicine MD's, an OB/GYN, and a group of family docs. My health side-lined me for a few years - For my spirit, it has truly turned out to be a blessing in disguise. (I have severe endometriosis & have had several laporoscopies, the last one resulting in an oophorectomy.) Because of my health & my parents' financial situation, I had to drop the whole nurse dream & go to work to pay for my surgery bills & for things I needed in life in general. One job lead to another, where I stayed for a long time & was great at, but something left a burning desire in my days. Anyone who knows me knows how I love to hold & talk about babies & children. Talking to a co-worker, we discovered my long-time desire to become a RN & that her brother-in-law was a level 3 NICU RN at a local hospital. He got me a position to volunteer in the NICU. Although it was a lot of work - cleaning carts & beds, washing sheets, etc, - I did get to cuddle a lot of stable babies. I knew then that this was for me. With the great chance that I cannot have my own babies, then I can get paid to take great care of other peoples' little ones and never have to pay for any of their needs or wait up for them at curfew, etc! A friend of mine made the decision around this time to go back to the community college & get her ADN. I have joined her, knowing that we will have to go through a lot of crap taking care of adults to get to these angels. I can guarantee you that many nights when I'm up late & get discouraged that I'll be referring to this site. Thanks to all of you for your honest, sincere, heartfelt stories & experiences. Keep them coming - there are up-and-comers that need you to get through the hard times!

[danissa]

TerreP .....Good luck, hope the time flies in for you!

[BSU07GRAD]

Well,It seems like no one has posted on this site in a while but I am going to post anyway. I Will be graduating in 7 weeks with my BSN! I just wanted to post and say I have been working in the NICU since May of this year as a Student Nurse Extern and I absolutely LOVE it!! I know it definitely is a calling for me. When I was 10 I was telling everyone I wanted to be a neonatologist. Don't ask how I new what that was when I was young but somehow I did. Anyway, once I realized that it was the nurses that were giving the round the clock care I changed my tune to nursing. I absolutely can't tell you enough how much I love the NICU.It is my dream job! I feel so privileged to have gotten myself a spot there for when I graduate. My favorite part is being able to see a sick little 24 weeker become a fat chubby infant ready to go home! It is so awesome to be able to teach the parents how to care for their little one. I feel honored that I can be the one to help them get a good start in life. I love it, love it, love it! I definitely can't see myself doing any other kind of nursing but NICU!
Also, to those who are students interested in the NICU: If you have a hospital nearby that hires Student Nurse Externs in the NICU, I HIGHLY recommend getting your foot in the door and learning about the field before graduation. Many of my peers are so scared for graduation because they feel as if they will be overwhelmed. I on the other hand feel relaxed and comfortable because I have been eased into the field and know the unit and how things work very well by now. Obviously my role will be changing, and I will have more responsibilities, with much more to learn, but I feel MUCH more comfortable than I would have had I not worked there previously. So, if the chance is available to you I think it is a very good experience and you will learn A LOT!!

[iicy]

No matter how grouchy the traffic getting to work makes you feel once you get to work and see those cute babies they put a smile on your face, some of them make faces that make you laugh. I also find it amazing that these tiny 2 pound people are yawning and stretching. It is also rewarding to see a very sick, former micro premie come back to visit with their parents and you see a robust child with chubby legs and smiling faces. I would not trade NICU for any other area.

[mindyg22]

Thank you all for sharing these.

[mauigal]

A 100 years ago when I was in nursing school I did a rotation in an adult MICU. My evil instructor assigned me and another student to a 480lb comatose pt who had been abondon by his family when ask to sign a DNR. everything that could go wrong in the human body had gone wrong with this poor guy. He had a cont feed of Ensure and a cont river of stool. My instructor (the devil's mother-in-law) said "CLEAN HIM UP NOW" Thank God for a kind old ordely(that what we called them back then) who helped us. So one of the things I love about NICU is I have never had a pt over 14 lbs. NICU IS THE BEST!!!

[Sweeper933]

This past weekend (during the March for Babies/Dimes Walk) I got to see my very first primary. He was a 23 weeker and had a lengthy stay here in the NICU. He is now 2 1/2 years old and is doing great! I see him and his family a few times a year, and it is always great to see how well he's doing.

According to his Mom, he's going through some "stranger anxiety" right now, so she warned me that he might not let me hold him. Well - he came running up to me and wouldn't let me put him down the entire day! I swear he "knows" me - inspite of all the "terrible" things I had to do to him as his nurse!