Adult ICU vs NICU..which is right for me?

[whoaitschrista]

I have been a RN for 4 years. I have experience in cardiac care with adults, and 3 years in an outpatient surgery clinic. I have recently started looking for a job and have thought about trying NICU. It is very different than what I already know, but I do take care of children after surgery. I would say that I am a calm person when it comes to stressful times when patients are unstable or sick. Could someone tell me the difference in working in Adult ICU and NICU? I am concerned about the pace that I currently work versus the pace of NICU. Our patients are healthy and stable, unless there are airway issues with anesthesia. Also my workload is light. Also is there a personality difference in the nurses that work in Adult ICU versus NICU? I am becoming more confident and aggressive as a nurse, but sometimes I question things or double check things. I am afraid of making mistakes! How is the orientation process? Do they usually do alot of teaching for someone who has no pediatric or labor/delivery experience? In the past year, I have felt like I NEED to learn more and WANT to push myself. I just want to do more for my patients. I'm just not sure which way I should go..

[cpmrn]

I know you post is old but I am finding myself in a similar situation I am nurse of three years and was just offered a surgical icu position as well as a NICU position I have no clue what to do. What did you decide?

[ausrnurse]

If you have a background in adults, I would take the adult position so you can become comfortable looking after adults who a critically ill before then stepping up to neonates who are critically ill. Going from adults to NICU with no critical care experience would be extremely overwhelming to me, because you don't just have to learn about ICU, but you have to learn about little tiny babies with their little tiny tubes and a whole new set of "normal" vital signs. That's just me.

[anapap]

I did adult ICU for a very short time and then NICU. Honestly, it isn't too drastically different. The biggest different is that when adults crash they don't bounce back as easily. Babies crash often but they usually bounce back. Our poop is a lot smaller and we don't have call bells. When I'm busy, I'm super busy, but I rarely have days when I don't have lunch and breakfast breaks.