A little frustated

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

Some background: I have been working as an aide since May 2012 and now have two different positions. First aide job, I have had since May 2012 in a Med-Surg unit at one hospital (I've applied to a L/D job, still waiting) and then I got promoted into a new job from another hospital in December 2012 from a sitter to an Orthopedic aide. Now, I just started a new job last week, a transfer from the Orthopedic unit to Labor and Delivery: High Risk OB.

However, I find myself frustrated. I want to work in the NICU and have tried to get in, but it is difficult. I wonder if I made the right decision leaving the Orthopedic unit to work in Antepartnum care. I feel as though I will NEVER get into the NICU as a new grad RN because I have no NICU experience as aide.

Did I make the right decision? How long did it take for you to get your "dream" job? Should I even bother continuing to search for a NICU tech position?

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Aide work is rarely considered when evaluating applicants for RN jobs. I know, I know, a lot of people will tell you it "gets your foot in the door" and "helps to have personal connections," but for every one of those you can bet there is another that says, "Oh, great, another CNA with an RN who thinks she knows it all because she was a CNA."

Not saying any of these apply to you or to your potential employers, but do not despair because you want NICU and weren't a NICU aide. Sure, keep trying to get that NICU tech job, and keep your smiling face in front of them as they come down to high-risk OB. But do not expect to get a critical care job right out of RN school, and don't be crushed if you don't. Sure, some people do get them-- I did, but that was a long time ago, before the nursing shortage evaporated, before there were more qualified applicants with actual experience than there were jobs. Plan of a couple of years of RN experience ("OMG! A couple of YEARS?" yeah, could be), remember that you'll have a long, long career, and keep your eyes on the prize (and your peripheral vision aware of what else comes up).

:flwrhrts:

[beckster_01, BSN, RN]

Getting a little bit of experience on the floor before transferring to the ICU was the best decision I ever made. As a new grad you are learning a lot more than how to be a nurse. You are learning how the hospital works, who is who and who does what, how to talk to patients, how to talk to families. How to communicate in general, actually. I was glad to find myself learning these things when the stakes were relatively low. The possibility of being directly related to a patient's demise is pretty slim on the floor. When I moved to the ICU I was able to use my orientation to focus on how to be an ICU nurse. I already knew the other things. I was also glad that in the eyes of my coworkers I wasn't a total newb.

That being said, if you graduate and a NICU position with a GOOD orientation and a manager you click with presents itself, go for it! Same with your CNA job. If you happen to find a NICU job, go for it. If your manager and coworkers like you as a tech they will like you as a nurse. But don't stress out about it, because it won't make all the difference. But if you really want a different job I would look for any peds position, as peds and adults are different worlds.

My only other advice is to never sacrifice a job with good management for a "rosier" job with bad management. It will make your life miserable.

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

Thank you so much for both posts!

In regards to new grads and ICUs, I do know of a very well-known hospital that will hire new grads in NICU, provided that they either have had one year in NICU as a tech, had their preceptorship in the NICU or are going to grad school to be a NNP. I guess that is why I'm a little antsy in getting my foot in the door!

I've heard that the NICU usually doesn't like to hire people with too much adult experience because it takes longer for them to "untrain" and re-train them...is that true?

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Possibly, but not a deal-breaker. It's not as if you've been in geriatrics for twenty-two years and now, with a sore back, you want to take care of smaller, lighter patients. :)

[beckster_01, BSN, RN]

That is a nice little benefit, but I would focus more on getting I to peds/neonate, than into ICU. I know what it feels like to feel rushed in life, but you have a whole career in front of you. It often looks better to future employers to have "worked your way up." In my instance, if I was to switch hospitals I think that having a experience in cardiovascular surgical step down + MICU looks better for me than straight MICU. It means I have experience in both medical and surgical, pulmonary and cardiac. Employers like versatility and if they asked why I went from one to the other I would tell them I did it to broaden my horizons. I think you can apply the same principle to your babies :)

But again, if you can't find a job specializing in babies/kids now I would relax. You are still in school, and the experience you are getting now is still experience, and you will get where you want to go regardless, it just might not be straight out of school-- and the point is that this is OKAY

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

I worked with a nurse who had at least 3-4 years of adult neuro ICU experience and had to leave due to a shoulder injury. She went right away to NICU and loves it. You will find a job in NICU one day. It may not be straight out of school, but you will find that job. You may even realized since you are still in school that you find something else you really like instead and your dream job will be different.

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

The thing is, I want to continue my education before having kids, and as a woman, I only have so much time until my biological clock starts ticking. If I didn't want to have kids or didn't mind going to school, working full-time and raising small children, this would be a non-issue for me. That is why I need to get that NICU job straight out of school.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

The thing is, I want to continue my education before having kids, and as a woman, I only have so much time until my biological clock starts ticking. If I didn't want to have kids or didn't mind going to school, working full-time and raising small children, this would be a non-issue for me. That is why I need to get that NICU job straight out of school.

Well, good luck then.

[klone, MSN, RN]

The thing is, I want to continue my education before having kids, and as a woman, I only have so much time until my biological clock starts ticking. If I didn't want to have kids or didn't mind going to school, working full-time and raising small children, this would be a non-issue for me. That is why I need to get that NICU job straight out of school.

The best laid plans of mice and men. You should probably not count on getting a job in the NICU straight out of nursing school. What will happen to your life's plans if you don't? Will you just not have kids then? I'm just saying, life has a way of throwing you curveballs, and it rarely does a person good to be so rigid in their plans.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

The thing is, I want to continue my education before having kids, and as a woman, I only have so much time until my biological clock starts ticking. If I didn't want to have kids or didn't mind going to school, working full-time and raising small children, this would be a non-issue for me. That is why I need to get that NICU job straight out of school.

You are 22, you have time before you need to worry about your "biological clock ticking." I wouldn't count on all of this playing out like that- who knows what will happen? According to the life plans I made way back when I should be married with 4 kids by now. I'm 29, very single and couldn't be happier.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Oh, hell. She's only 22?