New Grad NICU Residency Program

[cguz]

Hi Everyone,

I will soon be a new grad and my dream is to work in the NICU at a Level III or Level IV hospital. I will be moving to New Jersey after graduation. Does anyone know of any hospitals that accept new grads to their NICU or NICU residency programs. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[jocy_anne]

I'm not sure what part of New Jersey you are moving to, but I live in South Jersey (20 minutes outside of Philadelphia) and work in the N/IICU (Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. I was hired into the residency program back in February 2015, and I know they still hire new nurses into ICUs through the residency program. Our unit is not your typical NICU, since we take care of babies up to 1 year old. It's almost like a baby PICU. But I do like it there and feel as though I've had some pretty good experiences there.

[cguz]

Thank you so much for responding. I feel like a fish out of water so to speak with not knowing where to even begin. I have tried searching for CHOP's residency program and haven't been able to find anything. Do you know of a link I could use for more info on the program and how to apply?

Did you have any prior experience in the NICU or Peds before applying?

[KKEGS, MSN, RN]

I'm in Minnesota but at my hospital they would post an open position 3 times a year called New Grad Training Program. There was no information about the program on their website. It was almost like a secret that you had to learn about through word of mouth. If you can't find any information on a website it doesn't mean the hospital doesn't have a program. I would try to locate contact information for a hospital's nurse recruiter. He or she would be able to tell you if that hospital has such a program and how to go about applying for it.

By the way I was hired into the NICU as part of the New Grad Training Program. You can absolutely be hired into a NICU right out of school. Good luck!

[cguz]

Thank you so much for the information and encouragement! I will certainly give that a try.

I currently volunteer in a local NICU as a cuddler and will be doing an externship this summer in Peds in Pennsylvania. I tried for the extern in NICU but they have you list your top 3 choices and they place you from there.

Should I apply before graduation? I am so new to all of this and not many people to turn to for advice in this area.

[KKEGS, MSN, RN]

It doesn't hurt to start applying as you get close to graduation. Some of my classmates did. I think every hospital probably does it a little differently. My hospital won't even look at your application until you've passed NCLEX but my brother in law was just offered a job at a hospital before he even took the NCLEX.

[cguz]

Thanks for the information! I guess the best thing to do is call around and ask the nurse recruiters?