Level 3c to a Level 2b... Will I get bored??

[nakeia]

Greetings fellow NICU nurses!

I currently work in a busy Level 3 "does everything except ECMO" NICU and have recently acquired a position in a Special Care Nursery due to my husband's job relocation. Unfortunately no high acuity NICU's were hiring and it was the only thing available... so I have taken it and start in August. The Special Care Nursery is on the same floor as L&D/Nursery/PostPartum (its all one unit) and apart of my job is attending all of the deliveries as well which is something I look forward to. The thing is..... Will I get bored?? Is there anyone out there that has did this transition and has not been bored and loves it and will never go back to a higher leveled NICU or do you do a little of both (part time here... prn there)? Im just curious, also nervous because I'm afraid I won't like it but I'm going into with an open mind and seeing how it goes. Thanks for reading and responding!

[Guest505077]

hi there

I did that very same change many years back. I have to say it did take a good year to adjust to all the changes ( policies, procedures, increased pt load, attending deliveries, learning the parameters of what a healthy newborn assessment includes, caring for term babes with different problems, definately more parental involvement - just to name a few...

At our facility, I have had no problems keeping my skills up caring for vents, working in codes...

For me, the change was made to reduce a commute time of 60min to 10min- well worth it...

However, as I came from a teaching hospital, I really miss that as the current employer is not...

*some advice for you- your new co-workers will not want to hear - "well, at my old job, this is how we did it...." I rarely said that, but let me tell you, when staff from level 3 come and do makes that comment- it really turns people off and gets them talking..*

Good luck in your new job!:anpom:

[time4nicu]

Most of my friends that come from level three to our level two love it. You can still take sick babies if you want, although they may not be as sick as you are used to. Our unit is a 30 some bed unit and we get 28 weekers and above. My friends whom love all the action of a level three nursery never complain about our kids not being intensive enough.

[littleneoRN]

*some advice for you- your new co-workers will not want to hear - "well, at my old job, this is how we did it...." I rarely said that, but let me tell you, when staff from level 3 come and do makes that comment- it really turns people off and gets them talking..*

:anpom:

This does get annoying if you hear it often enough, especially if it comes with a "holier than thou" attitude. But I don't think we're thinking in the best interest of our patients if we're so arrogant to not want to hear how things are done at other places and learn from each other. I only work at a large referral center, but I came from Level II before. I have co-workers who also work casually at community Level IIs and come back with great ideas of how things are done there....we can learn as much from them as they can from us. We can't let our egos get in the way of taking great care of our patients. Just go into your new job with an open mind remembering that different can be equally good for the patient...and be humble in making suggestions if you do have ideas for improvement.