Expertise wanted!!

[Nurse Man-ingitis]

i am trying to determine where i might focus my career after my bsn. i am interested in cardiology, but recently i have thought about nicu/picu. i need some assistance in order to determine if i am on the right track.

first, would general cardiovascular nursing provide more advancement opportunites than pediatric and neonatal critical care with specialty in cardiovascular?

as an np, i want to be able to work in a clinic setting in order to do patient assessment and also follow them in the hospital setting for pre/post surgical and medical procedures. do any of you work in both nicu/picu? thanks in advance for any assistance.

[SteveNNP, MSN, NP]

Sounds like a PNP working on a pediatric cardiology service would fit the bill for you...

[heartwort]

I don't know of any NNPs that work in a clinic setting. They can have roles other than clinical in the hospital but that's usually their focus.

If you know you want cardiovascular I'd consider starting with that and then working your way into Peds. Cardiac after you've got a little experience under your belt. It will make you more rounded.

[NICU_babyRN, BSN, RN]

I think the best may be a cardiac-focused PICU!

[tryingtohaveitall]

I agree with the CV-PICU recommendations, or even a large teaching hospital that may have a pediatric cardiac floor. Long ago, that's where I started out and it was fascinating! I learned so much, that time was invaluable and a great segway to PICU. Or you could just start right off in PICU.