finally a NICU nurse!

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I just accepted the position I recently interviewed for in a level IV NICU at a children's hospital. I am so stoked! I've wanted to do NICU since my early teens and have always wanted to work in a children's hospital so I am pretty excited! :)

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Specializes in NICU.

Welcome to the only nursing specialty that gets excited when our patients poop.

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Welcome to the only nursing specialty that gets excited when our patients poop.

:lol2: It's true! Used to do newborn nursery and even there we'd be happy when they pooped lol. Thanks!

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Specializes in Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN).

Congratulations!!! It took me 6 years of being an RN and about 4 years of active duty to get to the NICU - I start next month! I look forward to hearing about your first few weeks!

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Specializes in School Nursing.

Congratulations! I started my hospital career in the NICU as a new grad! Now I work as a school nurse during the week and I'm a NICU nurse on the weekends. :)

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Thanks everyone! I started yesterday and am going through all the standard hospital orientation stuff for now, but next week will be starting on the unit! Steep learning curve ahead but I'm excited about it!

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Congrats! This is so exciting!! Would you mind sharing some of the interview questions, and your interview experience in general? I'm interviewing at Children's too ;-)

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Hi! I also just accepted a NICU job offer! I have been a nurse for 6 years, all adult nursing, so this is going to be totally different for me! I start in 1.5 weeks. Please check in and tell us how you like it and what it's like!

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Congrats! This is so exciting!! Would you mind sharing some of the interview questions, and your interview experience in general? I'm interviewing at Children's too ;-)

Thanks! Let me see if I can remember any--I've done so many interviews the last few months some of it runs together! With the manager and educator, I remember more behavioral type questions. I remember being asked to tell a bit about myself and why I was interested in NICU, they had my resume in front of them and actually pulled a question directly from something on my resume, asking how I handle that sort of situation. The peer interview was pretty informal and friendly, and mostly we discussed my previous experience. Make sure you have some questions for them (both interviews)! Everyone has been very friendly and welcoming, after the management interview I was given a tour of the units and introduced to some staff members and I also had the opportunity to shadow for a shift and really get a feel for the unit. It's been a very positive experience overall.

Hi! I also just accepted a NICU job offer! I have been a nurse for 6 years, all adult nursing, so this is going to be totally different for me! I start in 1.5 weeks. Please check in and tell us how you like it and what it's like!

Congratulations! And welcome to Babyland! Babies are great (did newborn nursery for a couple of years before this, no adults!) so I hope you love it! I've been told by many (and actually asked in my second interview) that it takes usually a couple of years to feel comfortable in NICU so be prepared that it may take a while to feel like you've got it down. I am trying to prepare for feeling like a new grad all over again lol.

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Thanks everyone! I started yesterday and am going through all the standard hospital orientation stuff for now, but next week will be starting on the unit! Steep learning curve ahead but I'm excited about it!

Hi, I had my interview and got the job offer! It's Level IV at Children's Colorado. I wanted to ask you if your program has night shifts too, and if yes, how are you coping? I never worked a night shift, and I am pretty scared it is going to be bad. I haven't accepted the offer yet. Thanks!

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Hi, I had my interview and got the job offer! It's Level IV at Children's Colorado. I wanted to ask you if your program has night shifts too, and if yes, how are you coping? I never worked a night shift, and I am pretty scared it is going to be bad. I haven't accepted the offer yet. Thanks!

Congratulations! I've worked nights before, and will be going to nights in late July/early August for the last few weeks of my orientation. I found it easiest to keep myself on a fairly consistent schedule (staying up most of the night and sleeping morning/early afternoon) even on my days off--I do not do well with flip-flopping from a day to a night schedule. If you're a morning person, you may hate it, but if you're a night owl like me, it will probably be an easier adjustment. Keep in mind that many positions start you off on nights. Some places have a years-long wait for a day shift position! There's threads on here about dealing with working night shift, I highly recommend you do some searching and read up on it. I don't think it's too bad, personally, but I'm also (as stated) a night owl.

I would expect at least part of your orientation will be on days because a lot goes on during the day shift that will be good to learn.

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Thank you! I am super excited! I am also a night owl, so hopefully the adjustment won't be so bad. Now I need to pass my NCLEX! I'm using UWorld, and I love it so far.

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