Adult ICU to Neonatal ICU. Would the change be significant if bedside adult ICU is wearing me down?

Published Dec 9, 2022

3 Posts

Specializes in ICU/ NICU.

Hi all,

I came on this forum to ask peers for advice and to get multiple perspectives on a specialty switch.

For some background, I am a nurse with 4 years of experience, 1 in renal med-surg, and 3 in Medical/Surgical ICU. I have honestly been dreading going into work because I am so tired of lifting 300lb patients with little help. We barely get techs in medical ICU and breaks have become non-existent. On top of that, the past 4yrs I have worked only night shift and it has definitely taken a toll on my body; I find myself having trouble sleeping on my days off and flipping schedules is getting tough. Essentially, the ICU has me burnt out and looking for a change. I have been offered full time NICU nights, EP lab, and CTICU days. I am torn between these offers because I love each one for different reasons.

I applied to NICU because I would love to challenge myself with learning about a new patient population, I love interacting with families and teaching them/explaining why I do certain things...etc. It is night shift though...but at least the patients are smaller so maybe cleanup and linen change won't be so rough??

EP lab sounded great! 4 10hr shifts sound doable and I'll get to learn more about the heart and it's electrical conduction. However, I would like to know how nurses who actually work there think.

CTICU days sounds great, except it is adult ICU which I really don't want to do anymore. However, maybe since it is days staffing will be better. This is a Level 1 hospital so we run ECMO and I would love to learn to manage patients on it. Lots of learning opportunities since this is super specialized, plus...CV always gets the techs since we have to get patients up to walk LOL and I have liked my experiences floating there.

I would love to hear what y'all have to say! I am open to any criticism or suggestions!