Med/Surg to NICU - thinking of making the switch

[MedSurgRN193, BSN, RN]

Hi all,

So I've been working in an acute med/surg setting for just over two years now. Though I feel like there will always be something new to learn in nursing, I have the desire to try out a different specialty - my plan has always been to do 1-2 years of med/surg to get my time management and assessment skills down, as well as to improve upon my critical thinking and leadership skills.

I have always wanted to work in postpartum/public health, as I love health promotion and working with babies. However, I had never considered working in the NICU up until this year...a nursing friend of mine suggested it to me. I'm going to do a shadow shift with her in the NICU she works at next week, so that I can learn more about what NICU nursing entails and if it's right for me. I think that I never considered it as a new grad, but now that I have a couple of years of experience under my belt, I feel more open to the idea of pursuing a nursing career in this field.

I guess my main question is for those nurses who have worked or are working in the NICU - what do you like about it? Do you find that it's a better work environment than a med/surg ward? From what I've heard, there is more support, and while it is a high stress environment, and has the potential to be extremely sad/challenging, it is very rewarding and the nurses are better supported than in med/surg. To be honest, working in med/surg right now, I feel that the nurse to patient ratios are so bad that I'm hardly making a difference anymore...

Any advice and insight about what it's like to work in the NICU would be much appreciated. (I'm an RN in B.C., if that makes any difference). Thanks! :)