Few months of Med Surg Experience, TIP FOR GETTING INTO THE NICU!!!

[artipatel18]

Hi everyone, SO I just joined ALLNURSES to find other nurses who can help me land a NICU position. I got so discouraged by seeing that all these NICU positions required NICU experience, and then I saw someone say you should not join MEDSURG if you truly want NICU. Unfortunately, MEDSURG was the only position I recieved. NH RN jobs are tough right now so I am willing to relocate anywhere to get the career I want. I am technically still a new grad who's dream and passion is to become a NNP, and just graduated with my ADN in school for my BSN. I have been working on a MEDSURG floor for about 5 months, since june 2012 so i have some experience. I am dying to get into the NICU.

Any pointers on how to make my resume stand out?

What are other things I should be doing?

Would it even be possible for me to get in to the NICU with just a few months of medsurg experience?

PLEASE HELP! Also, any states that nicu rn are in demand because they sure aren't up here in NH .

[Nurseadam]

5 months of experience is tough to land you a job anywhere other than med surg let alone NICU. Med surg nurses have it hard and require more experience if they wanted to change nursing jobs.. So you could try n apply everywhere and if it didn't work, id put that dream on hold for at least a year then reapply.. Don't forget your pals and NR certifications that will make u stand out

[littlepeopleRNICU]

I am a med-surg to NICU nurse. I worked on a telemetry unit(which at my hospital helps branch into any critical care setting) for 2.5 years. I did not take NRP or any neonatal certs prior to transfer, but I think it could help you. What I did instead was be very involved on my unit. With only being there 5 months, it would be harder for you to do some of the things like I did, like charge nurse and precepting, but still ask your manager what you CAN help with. Does your unit have any committees? You could help with those. A lot of units want someone who will be involved. If you want NICU, don't feel like you have to go now or will never get it. True, it's a completely different world from adult M-S, but job hopping as a new grad doesn't look good. Your new prospective manager could see that as a red flag and wonder what you'd do at 5 months if you found out NICU wasn't really what you had hoped for. One thing I did do was tell my manager how interested I was. She knew from my M-S interview with her that NICU was where I wanted to end up, and I let her know beforehand that I was applying. Having respect from your manager goes a long way. I'm sure he or she would appreciate not being surprised. Networking with the NICU managers and nurse recruiters is a good idea too. Shoot them an email and let them know your interest. Don't be upset if you hang out in M-S for a year or so. It wasn't my area either, but you do learn a lot. Even though NICU is different, you will learn how to speak with doctors and families, how to critically think, multitasking, and just get comfortable with basic nursing skills. A lot of that will transfer over at least some, so it's not all bad!

[leopardprintnurse]

I am in the same boat as you! Have always wanted my NNP too and was hoping to work my way up from l and d. No such luck, ended up in psych and clinical research for over two-years now. I finally landed a med surg with telemetry and I start next week! Years ago, this wouldnt have made me happy but now I am thrilled. I still have a dream, but know just like everything I've done so far I'll have to do my time. So I want to encourage you that I don't think you are far off, you are lucky to have gotten right into the hospital and med surg. I have heard waiting a magical year before making any changes does make you more valuable. So hang in there! Ill be doing the same, and hoping for the both of us it doesn't take too long to get where we want to really shine!!