my dream; to become a nurse in the NICU, please let me kno how you got there!

Specialties NICU

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Hi! im new to this site but have fallen in love with it already. I am about to graduate from highschool and plan on attending nursing school to become a RN. What i was wondering was how and how long did it take for all you wonderfull NICU nurses to get to where you are? What school did you go to what sort of classes and how long? I am new so i dont know if this topic has been brought up or not, but i just wanted to hear your stories and your experiances.

Thanks,

Cori

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I have been working in NICU for 18 years. I have been in nursing for 26. I went to nursing school after high school, recieved my LVN and begin to work in PICU. After having my first child, I went back to school and recieved my RN, and second child. I then worked several different areas through out the hospital until I landed, quite by accident, in NICU. I was suppose to be just a 6 week stint, but I fell in love with it and have never left. Most hospitals want you to have a little experience (6 months to 2 years) before going into intensive care. Be very careful....almost everyone that is wanting to be a nurse wants to either work Pedi or NICU. This is not for everyone. It is one of the most stressful, frustrating and heart breaking area in nursing. It is also one of the rewarding. I requires quick thinking, life saving decision making, and extremely specialized skills. You will have to work as a team, tolerate difficult parents, irritated Neo's and the "clueless". Diplomacy, patience and a gentle tone is a must! But if I had to do it all again, I would in a heartbeat!!

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What kind of program are you planning to attend...ADN or BSN?

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i am planning on doing the adn program at fresno city college, i know im in for a long haul of work and am worried about the chemistry part, but i know i can do it. Was your nursing program hard for you? And for the 6 months experiance part, what department do you normally do that in?

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I was lucky and sort of fell into NICU nursing also. I graduated from nursing school in 2000 and spent about 6 months working in a tele/dialysis unit, until one day, one of my co-workers noticed that the NICU was hiring nurses for residency positions. I had always wanted to work intensive care but thought I wanted to work with adults. I decided NICU sounded fascinating, jumped on the residency and four years later, here I still am! I wouldn't change it for anything... I love it!!

Good luck.

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, MICU/SICU.

I will be graduating from an ADN program in December and will begin a 6 month Graduate Nurse Internship in the NICU starting in January. Many hospitals hire GN's right out of school.

Also, many hospitals (like mine) allow you to shadow a nurse. This way you can see what it is like to work in the NICU.

Check with the hospitals in your area.

Good luck!

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