Neonatal Nursing Career Questions

Jo Dirt · Oct 18, 2004

I'm *just* an LPN right now, but one of my instructors in the LPN program was an OB nurse. She said the most important thing for a nurse who wants to work in places where tiny babies/newborns are involved, is to understand you will often see some very, very sad things. She was the director of OB and saw nurses who could not deal with the things they saw. This leads me to believe it takes a certain personality to be able to do this type of work.

You can't enter a university nursing program as a freshman. You must finish a pre-nursing curriculum (usually two years) and then apply for admission to upper-division nursing. GPA is very important, keep it as high as you can.

Another route is to go through an associate degree or diploma RN program. These programs are two to three years in length and will prepare you to work most anywhere a BSN graduate can work (I think the difference in pay is about .25 for an ADN/diploma nurse vs. a BSN). However, if you want to become a nurse practitioner you will need a bachelor's degree.

I would not suggest going to LPN school, as the jobs for RN's to LPN's are about 10:1 (unless you live in a big city). Even then, most hospitals hire many more RN's than LPN's. If you did go to LPN school this would not prepare you to work in in the NICU, as the trend is for the hospitals to move away from hiring LPN's in specialty areas. As an LPN you will be most qualified to work in a nursing home. I actually don't mind the nursing home (maybe it just happens to be I work for a good one) but many nurses say the nursing home is the bottom of the barrel in terms of areas to work in.

Good luck in whichever road you decide to take.

SlinkRN · Oct 18, 2004

Hi there! I am a Labor and Delivery RN right now, but I did work for 2 years in the NICU. I have an Associates degree and found that I had more clinical experience than most BSN RNs when I finished school. I work near Chicago and all the hospitals here pay the same rate for ADN or BSN RNs. The difference is that you can't be in management unless you have a BSN. The community colleges are MUCH more affordable and you can always finish up your BSN after you are an RN and making good money to pay for it :) I recommend taking most (if not all) of the non-nursing classes (Psych, English, microbiology, etc.) before starting the nursing program since once you're in the program you'll need all the time you can get to study. Figure on 3 years to finish the 2 year program (I only know one nurse who did it in 2 years and she got a divorce in the process). The first year you can take all the non-nursing classes and get your GPA up high so you will be accepted into the RN program. Make sure to go to an informational meeting at the college so that you'll know what courses to take and how to get the admission ball rolling for the nursing program. More advice: Learn to speak Spanish very well - it opens many doors (at least it does in the Chicago area).

I loved working in the NICU, where I was you usually had 2 sick infants or 4 that were growing and feeding, or 1 VERY sick infant. Yes, there are VERY hard moments. I once had to tell a dad that his baby had died because none of the doctors that night spoke Spanish. You do a lot of mourning with parents, but there are very happy moments too. I prefer doing Labor and Delivery, but I think that's because that's where I started when I finished nursing school and I fell in love with it. I'm so glad that I worked NICU for a couple of years though - it was a great experience and I am more versatile at my job in the birthing center since I can also take care of the sick infants too. I actually became a nurse because of my experiences having a premature infant myself. My fourth child was 12 weeks premature and was in the NICU for 7 weeks. She was one of those happy cases because now she is almost 17 years old and a happy, healthy teenager :)

Once you finish a nursing program, you are qualified to apply for a job in the NICU. Some hospitals prefer an experienced NICU nurse, but most will train you on the job. Keep an open mind while you're in nursing school, some other specialty may catch your eye while you're there too! Some people say that everyone should work on a medical floor before starting a specialty, but I went straight to my specialty of L&D and I have LOTS of job security and options.

Most of the nursing programs try to scare you into thinking you're not going to make it through the program. The program I went to actually told us that half of us wouldn't make it. Don't worry - be diligent in studying and know that you're going to be a first-rate RN! School can be hard, but the career you've chosen is VERY rewarding and pays well too :) Best Wishes to you!!!

SlinkRN

SmilingBluEyes · Oct 18, 2004

Maybe this one can be moved to the NICU thread??? There is a group of experts there that can help this person out, I bet!

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Oct 18, 2004

I don't have the power to move threads but it sounds like a great idea. This is a frequent question on that board. There is an FAQ that has many links to previous threads on the subject. I will try to insert one I found that wasn't on that page but even if it doesn't take, those on the FAQ page are very good.

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68989

dillinger · Oct 19, 2004

bump [to delete]

Gompers, BSN, RN · Oct 19, 2004

You can't enter a university nursing program as a freshman. You must finish a pre-nursing curriculum (usually two years) and then apply for admission to upper-division nursing.

This isn't always true. While you don't start nursing classes right away, there are many universities (mainly private schools) that will admit freshman directly into the school of nursing. Usually the admission requirements are a bit tougher (i.e. higher GPA/ACT/SAT and more high school science classes needed than students admitted to the regular university) but it's possible - so check out all the schools around you. Basically, all it does is secure your spot for later on - if you don't pass the pre-reqs (sciences, mostly) you can't go on with nursing classes when the time comes. There are also some freshman and sophomore "intro to nursing" type classes at many universities. At my school, many of the students didn't know that you had to apply seperately to the school of nursing and had a very very hard time getting in later on, even though they already were students at the same school! Just a heads-up!!!

Agree - if you want to work NICU do not get your LPN. The only LPNs currently employed in NICU units are either long-time staff members or nurses who only take care of the grower-feeder babies. If you want the full NICU experience - meaning very sick, sometimes very sad babies - you need an RN. It doesn't matter if it's an associate's or bachelor's degree.

GOOD LUCK!

dillinger · Oct 19, 2004

What's the difference between LPN, BSN, ect? What's the degrees (lowest to the highest) and how many years does it normally take to earn each degree?

Gompers, BSN, RN · Oct 19, 2004

What's the difference between LPN, BSN, ect? What's the degrees (lowest to the highest) and how many years does it normally take to earn each degree?

LPN = licensed practical nurse (1-2 years, no college degree earned)

ADN/ASN = associates degree in nursing/associate of science degree in nursing (2-3 years, community college)

BSN = bachelor of science degree in nursing (4-5 years, college/university)

LPNs have their own state board, while ADN and BSN students take the RN state boards. As far as future job opportunities, it really doesn't matter if you have an ADN or BSN - you are qualified to work in any unit of the hospital. But LPNs are having fewer opportunites at hospitals now, and are mainly recruited for nursing homes and clinics. If you want to go into management or education someday, you'll need a bachelor's degree but that can be obtained later, so at least get the ADN in that case.

The biggest difference between the ADN and BSN programs doesn't have to do with the nursing education (though some BSN programs have extra courses on management and research) - it's more the other stuff. A bachelor's degree is very well rounded and there are many more classes required for graduation - things like history, literature, philosophy, etc.

Good luck!

SmilingBluEyes · Oct 20, 2004

Any more NICU People out there?any mods willing to move this one to the NICU thread, where our experts are?