New Student, Wanting to persue NICU

[trach baby]

Hello,

I am a student currently in the application process for my RN. I am applying this summer, as soon as my fingerprint clearance card arrives in the mail. I have been persuing RN for a few years and recently decided I want that the direction I want to take is NICU. I am also considering PICU. I gave birth to a 28 weeker. She was not a typical 28 weeker. When other babies progressed easily with things, my daughter didn't. She had some rough patches and in the end was transferred to another hospital which resulted in a tracheostomy for severe distal tracheomalacia that affected her entire airway. She is decannulated now and is doing very well, but my experience with her and the her nurses and doctors made me realize that the NICU is where I want to be.

Right now, I am trying to do all I can to pave my path into that direction. I am currently on my states EMSC committe as a family advocate and am volunteering for one of the NICU's Parent Advisory Committee which helps parents that have infants in the NICU. I have also maintained good contact with the Dr and nurses that managed my daughter's care. I also was the primary caregiver for my daughter when she was discharged from the NICU. We did not have any skilled nursing care, so we managed her trach, respiratory and NG tube ourselves. Talk about a rough first year!

I want to be a NICU nurse because I want to give back to the community that gave so much to my family when my daughter was born. Their compassion and love for my baby and my family is something that will never be forgotten.

I was hoping for tips on other things I can do to eventually find my place in the NICU. What credentials should I acquire before attemping to apply for a position in the NICU (or special care nursery)?

[RN4LOVE]

I think you are definitely on the right track! Doing everything you can NICU related is awesome and a good idea! I did an internship in the NICU during school, and it has helped me tremendously with landing a job in the NICU, so if you get the chance, you should definitely do something like that.

GOOD LUCK!

[SteveNNP, MSN, NP]

You could also look into volunteering as a cuddler in a NICU that uses them...