Advice from exp. NICU rn's

shands5690 · Apr 19, 2000

Originally posted by annrn:
I am a senior nursing student considering going into NICU nursing. I did a senior internship in NICU nursing and loved it. I would like to hear from experienced RN's in this specialty reguarding job satisfaction. Also, should a new nurse get experience in another specialty first? Should I consider doing adult icu first?

PS, I will be relocating to Tapma Fl after graduation if anyone has any local advice!

Dear AnnRN:

I have done adult ICU and NICU. They are two different worlds. I have been doing NICU for two years and cannot go back to the adult world. If you love babies, and you have to to be able to work in an NICU. Get your foot in the door now while you can. The NICU I work at trained me. They don't train you in nursing school. I am glad you are thinking of working in an NICU. We need good nurses. If you have any more questions e-mail [email protected]. Good luck!

rnpilot · Oct 24, 2004

If you loved the NICU, then go for it. There is no point in working in any other area first since NICU is totally different. If you decide later to go into an adult area, often hospitals will allow you to transfer to other units without experience since you're already an employee.

Gompers, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2004

Go for the NICU! Working for a year or so in another area probably won't help you very much, honestly. True, you might have more confidence and organizational skills, but really it's almost easier to train a new grad in the NICU than an experienced nurse. It's common practice to hire nurses right out of school into the NICU, and many of these nurses stay in NICU forever.

The other thing to consider is that if you really want to work NICU, but for whatever reason try and get that "vital" one year of med surg nursing out of the way first...you might end up burning out. That first year out of school, working as an RN, is the most stressful you'll ever have on the job. If you don't like the area you're working in, it makes it ten times worse. So go where your gut is telling you, wherever that is.

As far as job satisfaction, I would say that it's very high for NICU nurses. Of course, everywhere you go, there will be hospital politics to deal with and all that nasty stuff. That won't change, no matter where you go or what unit you work on. But the actual JOB of being an NICU nurse...what does it tell you when most nurses stay in the NICU forever? There are nurses on my unit who have been there since the unit started up 30 years ago. I NEVER dread going to work. This is such an amazing field, and the emotional rewards are wonderful.

Good luck!!!