NICU Stages and Retaking Exams

[kateNICU]

I am a NICU Nurse in Israel and looking for some information about NICU nurses in the USA, preferably California.

I know in the USA there are 5 stages of NICU nurses, can someone briefly explain what each of the five stages are?

Additionally, I'm about to start a 2 year NICU/ICU specialty course here in Israel, through the ministry of health. It will be instructing and specialising me in everything for the NICU ICU. If I move to California, will I need to retake this course when I arrive? Will I need to retake an exam in the subject matter? Or will it be fully accepted?

I know I will need to take the foreign nurse exam NLEX, but I'm specifically asking about this additional specialisation course.

[NICUmiiki, DNP, NP]

There is no required specialized course for NICU nurses; most NICU nurses are trained on the job. Doing that course in Israel can only help your chances of getting a NICU job in the states, but it is not required here.

I've never heard of stages of NICU nurses. There are four levels of NICUs. The higher level NICUs are able to take care of sicker babies.

I'm not from California, but it seems like job offerings are slim there. Having experience should help. If you need an employer to sponsor a visa, that will probably hurt your job search.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

As the previous poster has stated, there are four levels of NICU units, but there is no levels of certification for the nurses. Obviously, the nurses that work in a Level III or IV NICU have experience caring for the sicker babies than a nurse working in a Level I or II unit. So, when a NICU has a job posting, they will typically look for nurses with experience in a same level facility.

There are two courses that most NICU nurses take: Neonatal Resuscitation Program and STABLE. Both are 1-2 day programs.

[kateNICU]

thank you MIKI

i don't need Visa for work ,

the information that you provide me really helped :)

[kateNICU]

thank you very much