Is it easy to get into neonatal nursing?

pinksnowflakes · May 17, 2016

From what I have seen in my area, NICU is one of the hardest areas to get into if you are a new grad or have no NICU experience. If you have NICU experience, I believe it would be much easier to find a job. However, it is a very desirable speciality. I know that new grad programs for NICU are very selective and competitive. That's just my 2 cents. I don't have statistics or anything like that :)

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · May 17, 2016

Get your BSN. If your school offers an externship/Capstone placement, try to get placed in a NICU (higher the level, the better). If you are able to relocate after graduation, apply to NICU positions at the larger NICUs (children's hospitals). Many of the larger NICUs have established training programs (including classroom time) to train new grads and experienced nurses without NICU experience. Otherwise, take any nursing job you can get, to gain experience and apply to NICUs as positions become available.
I graduated with my BSN in Aug. 2014, passed NCLEX in Sept, applied to 50-100 openings (mostly NICU positions) in 12 states, had two interviews in Nov. (a Level III in NC and a Level IV in KY). I accepted the job in KY 4 days later and started in Jan. 2015. Many of our new hires are new grads, so it is possible to get a NICU job as a new grad. We hire 6-7 new nurses every 3-4 months (very large NICU).

https://allnurses.com/nicu-nursing-neonatal/how-to-become-1035945.html