ED to NICU?

[OlivetheRN, ADN, BSN, RN]

Hey everyone!

I was wondering how feasible it is to move from the ED to the NICU? I graduated this past May, and am a new grad in the ED. Through school I ideally wanted to land a job in a NICU or ED, and was very, very fortunate to be offered a job; I still thank my lucky stars for this everyday...the job market for new grads is rough out there...not that I'm telling anyone anything new..but I digress. I do LOVE the ED, but I always think about the weekends I spent volunteering in a NICU one summer and how much I absolutely loved it, heartbreak and all, and out of all the patients I see, I love the peds patients the most. I'm thinking that after a few years in the ED I'd like to try and get a job in a NICU. Just wondering how often nurses come to the NICU from the ED? If nothing else I'm planning on applying to some peds EDs after a few years to possibly use as a stepping stone to NICU, assuming I don't fall in love with that and never leave. Any insight would be great!

[2012rnnewbie]

I have been a med-surg nurse for almost two years while also working part-time in a busy ER. I will be transitioning to a full time NICU position in Dec and will try to update you on what the transition is like. I do feel however you should go wherever your heart tells you.

[JDD1017]

I came to NICU from the ED!!:) I too started out as a new grad in the ED and worked there a year before transferring to NICU. I still work PRN in the ED because I DO love working there, but I think the NICU is definitely where my heart is. It can definitely be done. NICU nursing is a much different pace and completely different type of nursing than ED. There is a lot to learn in NICU but I felt like having experience elsewhere made me a better NICU nurse. Good luck to you!!!:-)

[OlivetheRN, ADN, BSN, RN]

I came to NICU from the ED!!:) I too started out as a new grad in the ED and worked there a year before transferring to NICU. I still work PRN in the ED because I DO love working there but I think the NICU is definitely where my heart is. It can definitely be done. NICU nursing is a much different pace and completely different type of nursing than ED. There is a lot to learn in NICU but I felt like having experience elsewhere made me a better NICU nurse. Good luck to you!!!:-)[/quote']

Awesome!! I'm so glad to hear that! Yea, I know the ICUs are a totally different ball of wax. One of the girls I graduated with worked in CICU as an aide for a few years before graduation, and ended up in an ER in Texas after graduation and she always talks about the HUGE differences between the two. So yea, middle to end of next year I think I'm gonna start putting out the feelers for a NICU job :)

[zanmilasante]

Do some studying, so you can impress in your interview! Books for starters - Core Curriculum for Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing, and Metenstein & Gardner's Handbook of Neonatal Intensive Care. These two are like the bible for new NICU nurses.