Published
I know all schools are different, and I do plan on asking the schools I am applying to this very question. But I am curious what everyone's experiences were in their school. How much time did you spend learning about the NICU. Did you actually get to spend any time during clinicals or a practicum in a NICU? If I can't get any time in a NICU in school, I definitely want to shadow to see what it's really like, since my only experience was as a parent, which is totally different.
I had six hours in the NICU as part of an observation shift during my Peds rotation. It only took six hours to realize that this was where I wanted to be :)
Thankfully, there was only me and one other student in my class who wanted NICU, so I scored a senior preceptorship in the NICU that was 6 weeks long. I got hired right after graduation into the unit I precepted in.
Satori77, ADN
516 Posts
It definitely is a different type of nursing compared to all other specialties. That's why I want as much exposure as possible.