Calling out any exclusively NICU RNs who became CRNAs?

[pinkdoves, BSN]

I know NICU experience is not ideal for CRNA school, but I've found several reputable schools that accept it. I was wondering if anyone in the allnurses community is one of these people--someone who only came from a background in NICU and is currently in school/is a CRNA now? I am not 100% sure I want to do CRNA but I'm looking into my options. I work at a children's hospital RN and don't want to switch employers. I guess I could switch to PICU or CICU as well...but I'm most attracted to NICU.

[NurseBrittRN]

I don't know of anyone personally but I would really suggest looking at adult ICU positions if you want to continue down the CRNA path. If you have a love for the NICU you could always stay on PRN. I usually work several PRN jobs at a time to broaden my experience. 

[Spurs_up, DNP, CRNA]

Had one NICU nurse in my class of 20 students. It’s possible, but seems to be very limited. Adult ICU will look better and your NICU experience will help separate you from other candidates.

[BigPappaCRNA]

At the very, very least, try moving to a busy PICU.  But really, 2 years of Adult ICU would be best.  Who cares if the school will accept the NICU experience or not, it will put you tangibly behind your classmates. Why would you want to make things even more difficult for yourself? There are some things that just can't be learned from a book.

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

NICU experience is not appropriate for CRNA school. The vast majority of NICU patients are hemodynamically stable and are not on multiple vaso drips. 

[Subee2, BSN, MSN, CRNA]

In 40 years of experience, I never met a CRNA who came from NICU.  Pretty unrelated experience for anesthesia.

[jj224]

Where I work, we had a new SRNA on her first rotation that had only NICU experience - she did very poorly and got booted from her program.

[chris21sn, BSN, RN]

I have never heard of a NICU nurse becoming a CRNA. Try PICU. Some will accept. But fair warning, my PICU classmate does say she struggles with the classes, because her mind is wired to kids, and not at all adults. Ideally adult population is more helpful in this field. 

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

I definitely don't recommend it (and have heard some horror stories about NICU nurses in CRNA programs), but.....

If you're absolutely sure that you want to stay at your current hospital, your best option is probably CICU, if it's a high volume center that takes a lot of complex defects. NICU tends to do things very differently from adult ICUs (different pressors, different vent modes, etc.) Also, most NICUs work along a spectrum, where not every patient is super-sick--most function as a joint ICU/step-down/floor, where some shifts you take a vented 23-weeker, but other weeks you take a bunch of term kids who are learning to eat and about to go home.

CICU tends to see a ton of fresh post-ops, and use way more vasoactive drips, paralytic drips, sedation drips, etc. The PCICU where I worked actually did bedside heart surgeries where the bedside nurses administered all of the 'anesthesia-type' meds instead of an actual anesthesiologist. The treatments/meds/vents/resuscitations are still quite different from the adult mentality, but they have much more overlap than NICU. Even by working in PCICU, I had a much better understanding of the CRNA/anesthesia role than I did in the NICU.

That said, if you're feeling drawn to the NICU RN route, you may get into NICU and find you'd be interested in the neonatal NP (NNP) role. There is a huge shortage of NNPs right now since so many programs have closed, so they're quite well-paid. They get to work closely with families, and get a pretty good mix of excitement (crazy deliveries) and downtime. Downside is that NICU is your only practice setting, so that means throughout your career you'll have to take turns with your coworkers doing weekends and holidays.