Advice for interview for NICU RN

[Mommy_RN]

Hi everyone,

I have an interview very soon for an RN position in one of the most amazing NICUs around my area. I do not have any NICU, peds, or OB experience. I have been an RN on a med-surg floor for 6 months and before that I worked as a tech in both hospitals and nursing homes. I'm extremely nervous! I'm not one of those nurses who claims to have always wanted to work in L&D or NICU. I have no idea what I ultimately want to do because I'm interested in almost everything. I don't want to go into this interview and fib about how I've always aspired to work with neo-nates, but I don;t want to be dismissed because it is something I would love to do. My true feeling is that nothing could be more rewarding than working with such an innocent population. I can't imagine a better way to apply my knowledge than working with children who haven't experienced anything yet, and to be able to help console parents in such a dark time. I don;t know how to say it. If anyone has any advice/experience to share I would really appreciate it!

Amanda

[RunBabyRN]

Be honest about where you're coming from- that you're still figuring out what area of nursing appeals to you. Go into all of the things you mentioned, why NICU appeals to you. If you try to say that you've always dreamed of NICU when you haven't, it's likely they'll see through you. I recently interviewed for an ICU job, and was the second choice (they interviewed two of us a second time, the other got the job), but I was honest in the first interview that I was still figuring out what area of nursing appeals to me. The manager also manages the ED, and I'm interviewing for a position there this coming Friday.

Speak to what about the unit DOES appeal to you, what you love about med/surg but what makes you want to change units. There's a lot of family teaching and family dynamics to handle in NICU that's very different from med/surg.

Good luck!