CAN NEONATAL/NICU NURSES WORK OUTPATIENT??(CLINIC, DOCTOR'S OFFICE,ECT...)

[MareBear112]

Hello Nurses!! I am hopefully a "soon-to-be NICU nurse" (I'm still in nursing school). I wanted to ask NICU nurses or anyone that has floated in that unit about their experiences (what you hate/love about NICU, would you choose a different unit if you had to do it all over again, how would you rate your stress level for this job (1-10), what is a day in the life of a NICU nurse, and if any nurse has ever made a mistake while providing care for the little ones). I'm really scared about messing up, I really want to be the best nurse. In addition to that, has any NICU nurse ever worked in an outpatient setting (like doctor's offices, follow-up NICU clinics, or programs??) I know most work in hospitals and although I don't really love the hospital setting, I'm still willing to work there.

Thank you so much in advance for all your answers!!!

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

For most of your questions, I'd recommend browsing back through the NICU forums, as many of these questions have been covered quite often and in great detail.

As for the question regarding practice settings--it's hard for me to imagine many 'neonate-specific' outpatient settings. If you think about it, almost all neonates/infants are followed in pediatric clinics, so that would be your best outpatient option to work with babies (although you'd obviously be caring for kids of all ages). Many NICUs do have follow-up clinics; however, those clinics typically meet very infrequently (i.e. once every two weeks, once a month, etc.), so it's unlikely you could get a full-time job doing something like that.

The only other non-hospital setting I can think of is in home health. There are some health departments (not all) that have opportunities for nurses to go out into the community and provide in-home education and support to new moms. In addition, there are peds home health and private duty opportunities available; when you choose your assignments, you could try to select cases with younger kids (assuming there are some available). I've known a couple of NICU nurses who supplement their income by picking up private duty shifts caring for medically-complex kiddos (i.e. kids with trachs, home vents, g-tubes, etc.) The downside is that it doesn't pay nearly as well as hospital work, so if you need the money, it's far more profitable to just pick up an extra NICU shift.

Honestly, NICU nurses have some of the highest job satisfaction I've seen in nursing. I've known coworkers who could afford to retire, but instead continued working well into their 70s simply because they love NICU so much (in spite of the weekends, holidays and 12-hour shifts). I've never seen anything like that anywhere else. If for whatever reason you decide you're done with the hospital and want to go outpatient, there will always be peds opportunities out there.

[MareBear112]

Thank you so much for your response adventure rn!! I will look more into what you’ve said. Thank you.

[Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN]

Please look up the definition of a neonate ,it is age specific.You do not care for toddlers at a clinic ,that would be a pediatric nurse.Hospital work is where it is at,loved every soul scorching minute of it.The Nicu level lll certification exam after two years is a good thing to have.You will be required to Pass and be competent in NRP.Good luck for your future.

[babyNP., APRN]

You got some good answers here. I did want to address the idea of mistakes-

You will make a mistake while a nurse. You are not perfect. Hopefully it does not cause irreversible harm (perhaps you "just" gave caffeine an hour late), but it happens to everyone. That doesn't mean you shouldn't strive to do the best you absolutely can and prevent all the errors, but healthcare is a humbling experience in which you inevitably will make errors.

[MareBear112]

Thank you @Leader25 and @babyNP. for your advice!!! I hope to not make any huge errors that could cost me my license, I have to be extra carefull.