neonatal nursing- help please

llg, PhD, RN · Dec 4, 2007

Graduate from nursing school and pass the NCLEX to become an RN. Some neonatal units hire new graduates. Some prefer to hire nurses with a couple of years of experience. If you get a chance to work in a NICU as a nursing assistant while you are in school ... or you get a chance to spend a little time in one as a student ... or get a little extra experience working with babies or children ... take advantage of those opportunites. They will help you stand out when you go to get that first nursing job.

As for the best places to work, that depends on what you are looking for. Some people like big cities. Other people prefer more rural environments. Some people like the most intensive care and working with the most critically ill patients. Other people prefer working with a more stable population and with patients with more positive outcomes. So what is BEST, depends on you preferences.

Neonatal nurses make the same salaries as other nurses.

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Dec 4, 2007

Often you may find that very specialized areas (including critical care areas like the NICU) may not hire new graduates directly into staff nurse positions, but instead may have a new graduate internship or an extended orientation to train in one of these areas. Check with larger hospitals in your area for these opportunities.

Generally, if you complete such an internship, the hospital wants you to remain on staff as an RN after the program is completed. In fact, staying on for a certain length of time may be required so that the hospital can realize some of the benefits of the training provided to the intern.

grace8808 · Dec 5, 2007

Same exact situation! I'm pre-nursing, community college, want to work NICU!

We should talk. It was helpful to read these responses too :)