NICU for CRNA

[Aggiejane07]

I am currently in nursing school to get my BSN and I will graduate in December. I am interested in becoming a CRNA someday and am wondering whether the type of ICU I am most interested in will adequately prepare me for the profession. I have emailed the director of the school I want to attend and he told me that a NICU would be fine for admission but due to the lack of titrations and more complicated medications, I am wondering if it really would be? Have any of you worked in a NICU prior to starting a CRNA program? Did you feel adequately prepared for the classwork and then later on for the job itself?

thanks for any replies :nuke:

[TatumRN]

Hey there!

I have worked in a float pool of PICU, NICU, and Pediatric CVICU. Although most schools will accept your experience, they really do prefer adult ICU. From my clinical experience, the NICU does not provide much variety, and I believe you would be at a serious disadvantage. There are typically only a handful of diagnoses that you will deal with, and there is minimal use of vasoactive drips. (other than dopa)

If you really want to stick with peds and stray away from adults, I recommend at least PICU or a Pediatric CICU.

Let me know if I can help with anything. I have gone through the whole process and will be starting CRNA school in the spring.

Have a great day,

KT