Almost 18 with a passion to be a Neonatologist?

[amandastegmanhughes]

Hey everyone! I'm new to the site so please forgive me if I make (what seems like) any dumb mistakes...

I am 17 years old, 18 in March and I have a huge passion to be a neonatologist and work in the NICU with sick and/or premature babies. My daughter, who will be 1 this month, was a NICU baby so I know how it all works with scrubbing in, touch time, feeding, IV's, wires, etc. Ever since my experience with the NICU, I have had a growing interest to be a neonatologist. After doing some research, I figured out that it takes 14 years old schooling to fully complete a neonatology program. 14 years of school seems out of reach for me... I dont think I can afford it, im not 100% confident that I could get through it, etc... Is there anyone out there that can give me some advice on following this dream of mine? I hate getting discouraged! I want this so bad.

Also, is there any program out there for people like me that can "shadow" a NICU nurse for a day or do a volunteer/internship type thing?

[Coffee Nurse, BSN, RN]

Kudos to you, it sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders. 14 years is a pretty accurate estimate, and you're right to have a healthy respect of the mental, physical, and financial investment that your interest represents. Picture yourself down the road a little -- when you're in the midst of putting in insane amounts of energy into residency and fellowship (I hear residents generally spend around 80 hours a week at the hospital), your daughter will be heading into her teens: a pretty volatile set of circumstances.

What inspired your passion for neonatalogy, might I ask? If it's providing direct care for babies, I think you'd be disappointed by going the medical route. If you think back to your NICU experience, I expect you'll recall that it was the nurses who were actually doing the touch times, feedings, etc. Nursing is also probably a more achievable goal for you with your situation; assuming you're about to finish high school, it's only another 2-4 years (depending on the program you choose) to obtain your license and get working. It's tough to get into the NICU as a new grad nurse, but I was hired into a great unit straight out of college, so it is doable.

I would definitely encourage you to get in touch with hospitals near you that have NICUs; I think most places are more than willing to arrange shadow experiences for people interested in the field. It'll also help you really see how much time doctors spend at the bedside, compared to nurses.

Lots of luck in figuring out what you want to do! Drop me a line if there's anything else I can help you with.