nursing schools

Specialties NICU

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i'm looking for some information, and i hope someone can help me out. i am currently a sophomore at stony brook university and am majoring in psychology. my original career goal was to be a genetics counselor, but i changed my mind and decided i want to be a neonatal nurse practitioner. after i graduate (may 2006) i will have a bs in psychology and then i plan on doing an advanced rn program to become an rn and get a bsn. the only thing is i'm confused about what i would have to do after that. it seems like there aren't many schools that offer a nnp program, and i am confused as to if it is a masters program or post masters, so i don't understand how long it would take. if anyone could explain the process of becoming a nnp, and also recommend a school i would appreciate it. thanks!

Specializes in NICU.
The reason why I'm not changing my major is because I would have to take another two semesters of nursing pre reqs and then 2 full years of nursing classes at the HSC. So either way I will end up spending a total of 5 years at SBU, but the way I am doing it now I will end up with two degrees.

That's a good reason, but just remember that the accelerated BSN programs are very fast paced, as they condense 2-3 years of nursing education into 12-18 months. There is no way to work at the same time. But if you think you might want to go back to psych someday, then of course it makes sense to get the psych degree. As for dealing with parents on the unit, experience helps more than anything. It's a very special kind of stress and grief that you see up in the NICU, so the longer you work with these families, the better you get at helping them. That's another reason why we all recommend spending at least a few years working as a NICU RN - bedisde manner is very important for an NNP or MD.

Is the reason you're looking at the NNP because of your hospital's setup? Because if you just wanted to be an RN, BSN, you would be more than able to work in a NICU. I've never heard of a NICU without RNs!

Good luck, you sound like a very smart girl!

Years ago I did a contract at a hospital in Washington that usually only had about 7-8 babies at a time. It was and still is a Level III. The receiving hospital for babies from other hospitals, etc. Just that the population in the area wasn't that large at the time. Also, the Level IIIs where I have worked, the NNPs did not need their orders co-signed, but the residents did. The NNPs were there 100% of the time and were not just rotating thru. Funny how things can be so different in the same type of unit but different places.

:balloons:

Just to add information... I'll be graduating this June from an ADN (associate's degree) RN program and have been hired to start as a new grad at a level III NICU this summer after my boards. (Can I tell you how EXCITED I am??? ) I got some experience on med-surg at a different hospital as an 'extern', but other than that, I have no healthcare experience.

As an aside, I already had a bachelor's degree and, like you, considered doing an accelerated program BSN. While I certainly understand the bonus of doing such a program, there are some big downsides, many of which have been mentioned here. When I did my research, I realized that I would get more clinical experience, a more realistic pace (24 months instead of 18 months but with breaks between semesters and in the summer - which allows you to take advantage of extern programs), more support from the faculty, and save a ton of money by doing the ADN program. The Master's programs I have looked into do not require a BSN, just a bachelor's degree of some sort. Just thought you might like to consider all of your options...

Wow, again everybody thank you soo much for replying! At Stony Brook, the advanced RN program is 12 months...I know it will be fast paced, but I think I can handle it, and I figured I couldn't work during that time...also it is not expensive at all...it is a state school and I am a NY resident (it is only about 2700 a semester). I want to become a nurse as soon as possible though. I am also looking into becoming a CNA this summer so I can have 2 years of experience before I start the nursing classes...do you think that will help me? I think my hospital is just small and that is why they don't have any RNs in the NICU, or I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure thats what someone told me. Again though, I'm confused...a NNP has to have a MD sign off on orders??? I thought they didn't have to work under a MD, only a PA did? Or is that just the way some hospitals work? Stony Brook is a large, busy, teaching hospital so I am going to try to shadow someone there, I'm sure their NICU is huge...I know they have a pharmacy in the hospital just for pediatrics alone!

Each hospital can set their own rules about who needs to be signed off and who doesn't. Each dept can also set their own rules, as long as they don't go against the state BON.

I am very familiar with Stony Brook, and I still think that you should really think things over very carefully before deciding on the one year program. You definitely will have no life then, much worse than if you were a resident on call every other night, etc. Is it really worth putting yourself through so much stress to get done in one year? I personally don't think that anything is.

Two years of CNA experience on an adult floor will not help with working in a NICU. Things are completely different, as different as they could possibly be.

Sure the experience will be helpful for your exams.........

:balloons:

I still have 2 more years before deciding which program to do, but I am grateful for all the advice! Will working as a CNA in general let me see if I am even interested in nursing at all? During school you have to learn all areas right? I think at St. Charles (where I work) they have CNAs on the maternity floor, so maybe that would help a bit too. I am still looking for a CNA program though, I need one that is relatively cheap (I hear there are free ones) and preferably over the summer in Suffolk County.

Specializes in NICU.

I worked as a CNA in adult care during nursing school, and it reinforced my desire to work with babies, LOL. It did help me out a lot in school since a lot of the bedside care became second nature to me, so when I was in my clinicals I could do that stuff on autopilot while my mind was focused on learning new medications and procedures. The hospital seems different when you're working as a CNA and when you're there as a nursing student, so it helped to have a couple of different prespectives. I got my CNA license after I took my first nursing course - it was like an intro to nursing thing with a skills lab where we tested out of things like bedmaking, baths, vital signs, etc. I went to the local community college and was able to take the CNA test (for it's usual small fee) with the students who had taken a CNA course there. (They all looked at me like, who the heck is this girl???)

Specializes in Burn ICU.
I am doing the BS track, and I plan on doing the advanced RN program right after I graduate, then taking time off to work as an RN before going on to the masters program. So I'm gonna need references, and I work in a hospital now as a pharmacy tech so I could get some from some pharmacists, but I don't know about professors...even in the small classes like recitations I don't really talk to professors or TAs. I'm gonna try and do research though sometime in the next two years so hopefully whatever professor I work with will write me a recommendation. Did you do any research?

Yes I was a research assistant for a lab that Professor Sheri Levy supervised and come to think about it she did write me a letter of recommendation. I did not really talk to the professors either and that was a big mistake in my part so believe me when I say start to go to office hours even if you have a simple question just so they will have an idea of who you are.

Yeah, I am figuring that being a CNA would also reinforce my decision to work w/babies! Its one thing to change the diapers and clean up after a baby, it's another thing to clean up after an adult. I saw practice tests online, and it seems like a very easy test, and it seems like the CNA is supposed to care more about the patient than a nurse would. The questions were things like what do you do if a patient says they don't want their family to visit and the correct answer was ask them why they feel that way. I thought you have to take a class though before you take the test. SBUalum, I have Sheri Levy this semester, she is a great professor! I will try to go to her office hours and talk to her.

Specializes in NICU.
I thought you have to take a class though before you take the test.

In most states, you either have to take a CNA course or be a nursing student before taking the test. My sophomore year, I had my first big nursing class with the skills labs like I said (bedmaking, etc.) and some clinical days doing patient care and vital signs in the hospital. Basically that class is the equivelent of taking a CNA course. If you want to start working as a CNA before nursing school, though, you'll have to take a course first. You can probably find one at a community college over the summer. Good luck!

(And yes, baby diapers are MUCH easier to handle than adult ones. I've had babies poop all over my hand, and just went "yuck" and laughed. I've also had an adult poop all over me, and believe me, I wasn't laughing!)

Thanks for the CNA advice! I will look into finding a program. Now I just need any advice on grad schools. Has anyone heard anything about particular schools? I have awhile before I have to start on that but it can't hurt to do some research now.

To get the absolute best experience, see if you can get a float postion in your hospital. This way you get to see most of the areas, and see if there are some units that you would like to wok on when you finish and others that you would stay away from with a ten foot pole. Back in the days when I was a nurse tech, I was officially assigned to a neurosurgical floor, but I didn't even see it my first ten shifts there. I think it actually made me a better nurse because I was always willing to learn and get new experiences.

Good luck to all of you................................... :balloons:

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