NICU Pros and Cons

umcRN, BSN, RN · Oct 7, 2011

nicu as in neonatal ICU? There is a NICU forum you can ask this questions but as someone who just recently left the NICU for a peds cardiac icu but still work at least 1 or 2 overtime shifts a week in the nicu I can share some insight.

Pro: If you work in a large regional center, usually in a pediatric center, you will get to see a lot of cool/interesting things. At my hospital we not only had the run of the mill preemies but had ECMO, surgical kids, metabolic disorders, total body cooling, diagnosis that are only seen in textbooks etc.

Con: If you work in a standard delivery hospital expect most of the "interesting" cases to be shipped out...so if you like the interesting look for a bigger NICU

Pro: I love the full term kids who come out sick as snot and get better within a week and are getting discharged

Con: For me I didn't like the preemies and the "preemie course" of PDA's, Nec, BPD, chronic lung etc,but some people loved the preemies and thrived on them, you won't know which you are until you start taking care of them

Pro: When you have a sick kid they are SICK and babies will crash very quickly...which if you are looking into ICU care for the rush and excitement you will find it in a NICU, however there are a lot of feeding/growing babies too which for me was not as fun

Family centered care - both a pro and a con, when you have a great family its great to interact with them and teach them how to care for their baby. However you also get those families that use the bedside only as a place to sleep at night...if they come at all.

Like I said, I still work OT in the NICU and have yet to decide what I want to do when I grow up, I may go back to NICU or totally fall in love with the peds world, haven't decided yet

Definitely check out the NICU forum though