Curious...any of you guys considering Peds/PICU/NICU?

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I am a NICU/PICU/Peds RN, and have been out of school for almost 2 years in the legendary "real world." I have had the chance to precept several guys in nursing school over the last year in PICU and NICU. I found that pretty much every one of them had never considered peds/picu/nicu as a unit they'd want to work in. After the day was over, several of them have commented that they actually might consider these highly specialized area... Personally I dragged through my pediatric classes and clinicals, swearing I'd never, ever do peds and torture kids and get paid to do it. I spent 3 DAYS in NICU during my senior practicum and LOVED it. It changed my whole view on peds. I now can't imaging caring for anyone over 17.

So tell me guys, would you every REALLY consider pediatrics, NICU, or PICU as a place you'd work after nursing school? What could I do as a preceptor to help you decide this?

Stephen

Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).
My wife is a NICU RN and I have got to experience that already. It is very intersting and something I have thought about. I am very interested in becoming a neonatal NP.

Me too... the autonomy and job market are awesome right now... I'll hopefully be starting soon, after I study for my NICU RNC and GRE...

Stephen

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Specializes in OB.

I'm not going into PEDS/NICU/PICU, but I am however going to L&D, which is a very uncommon place to see men!

I'm psyched about it~

We need to attract some men to this specialty!

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).
I'm not going into PEDS/NICU/PICU, but I am however going to L&D, which is a very uncommon place to see men!

I'm psyched about it~

We need to attract some men to this specialty!

AMEN!!!

I'm writing an article for the "Men in Nursing" journal, and that's my main point...

However....if too many guys apply, we'll no longer be the celebrities we are!!!!! I find it creepy how everyone knows my name, but I have no idea sometimes who I'm talking to, or giving report to in well baby...... oh well.....

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Specializes in Telemetry, Med-Surg, ED, Psych.

In all my six years as a Registered Nurse, I have never really worked in Pediatrics other than occasional floating. Of the times i have been to Pediatrics, it has been to do 1-1 suicide watches for the young kids and teens, but other than that I have not really worked in PEDS. I have been considering NICU/PICU nursing lately, but I have not been totally convinced of a Male Nurse in that type of setting. Often times, Men in nursing are usually found in Surgery, Emergency Department, or Intensive Care.

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I have been considering NICU/PICU nursing lately, but I have not been totally convinced of a Male Nurse in that type of setting.

It can be done - trust us! Our feelings won't be hurt if you pick another specialty though. As Steve alluded to, our small numbers on these units give us a certain "celebrity status" that is kind of fun. :)

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Specializes in Ortho, Case Management, blabla.

I've been seriously considering pediatrics as the place I want to end up eventually. Right now I'm precepting in neurology and I don't really care for it. I thought peds was a blast though (especially in comparison to other units). I haven't seen any openings in the listings at any local hospitals for peds; but I graduate in April and I'm thinking about dropping my resume off anyways.

The NICU/PICU is too enclosed for me (at least in the units at the local hospitals around here)- I did some classes there and I did not like being holed up in those small(er) spaces all day tweaking knobs. I'd rather at least have a hallway I can walk up and down between rooms. I'm not claustrophobic, but I can't imagine spending an entire day in one room. Although the kids in the NICU were really cool...I thought it was amazing how tiny they were.

As far as losing patients in Peds, it would be terrible, but it seems like the vast majority are very resilient and bounce back even moreso than the adult population in a cardiac/neuro/etc unit.

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Specializes in retail NP.

everyone always says, "peds would be so hard, seeing all those little guys sick." yes it's sad, but i found it to be sad when i saw older people that were my parents or my grandparents' ages. treating peds and doing your best to keep the child and their family as comfortable and happy as possible is a real blessing. knowing that a lot of kids (even in nicu/picu) rebound and live full lives is very rewarding. i would not want to work with any other patient population.

the picu stole my heart. :loveya: :loveya:

p.s.--there are quite a few men in the picu/nicu peds ed at my hospital. i would love to have more of you guys. there's a lot of respect in the peds icus for men.

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wow stephen, you sold me! YEA NICU!

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Well, here's a brief "day in the life" in NICU....

I want to thank you for this post. Via some serious schmoozing, I managed tours of two NICUs and a day in the PICU during my peds rotation last semester. It was great, but since there weren't preceptors/mentors in any of them (available to me), I didn't really get to do much hands-on. Your post is a well-appreciated "snippet" of what goes on in the NICU.

I've been developing an interest in NICU/PICU since nursing school began. I entered this semester fostering an enthusiasm for adult med/surg, but as I near the mid-point of this clinical I am really missing my time in peds, and wishing for some time in NICU/PICU (not sure which, yet).

This subject has been much on my mind lately. For the upcoming (final) semester, we will spend ~10 weeks in a critical care preceptorship, 2 12-hour shifts per week. Unfortunately, it seems as if I may be "stuck" doing mine in a hospital without any peds dept, despite a wide variety of such programs in the city. I am planning out a strategy for convincing the power-that-be to let me into one. It's sad, because I have a couple of fellow students in my clinical group who are also disappointed, one wanted L&D and the other peds ER. Wish us luck!

And just to stir things up a bit, how about a discussion about the differences between NICU and PICU, i.e. why does everyone like their dept? I personally am drawn to the very unique nature of the NICU patient population, but I wonder if I'd prefer the larger variety of the PICU? Needless to say, this is all a "neither is better, just personal preference" type of thing, but I find these mock-"debate" threads can be extremely informative when kept friendly.

Thanks again!

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Specializes in Pulmonology/Critical Care, Internal Med.

I'm considering NICU, I LOVED the babies. I hate to say it but I felt at home being a Vet Tech previously. Dealing with the babies was just like dealing with a puppy/kitten except they don't bite or scratch. :)

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).
I'm considering NICU, I LOVED the babies. I hate to say it but I felt at home being a Vet Tech previously. Dealing with the babies was just like dealing with a puppy/kitten except they don't bite or scratch. :)

True, true......

It never ceases to amaze me how it sometimes takes 4 sets of hands to keep a 26 weeker 700 gram baby from yanking his ETT out....

Stephen

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True, true......

It never ceases to amaze me how it sometimes takes 4 sets of hands to keep a 26 weeker 700 gram baby from yanking his ETT out....

Stephen

I can remember those days well. One nurse guarded the ETT, one weighed the baby, one watched the lines and one changed the isolette.

Tell that to an adult nurse and they truly wonder why. But those little ones are Henry Houdini's and the tubes can get dislodged so easily. And those tubes do not have any cuffs like you see on larger patients.

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