Level III NICUs in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area?

U.S.A. North Carolina

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Here's another nurse considering moving to beautiful North Carolina!

I've been doing some research on the internet about hospitals in "the Triangle" region, but I can't seem to find specific information about which hospitals have level III neonatal ICUs. Are there any NICU nurses from that area who can give me some info? And, what are the different hospitals like, as far as being good employers? One more question-just how hot does it get in the summer?

Thanks for any information you can give!

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I can help!! :coollook:

Duke University is the major unit in the area, they are currently the only ones using ECMO. One of my best buds is an NNP there. They also do all the major surgeries. Duke isn't really that well known for being the most nurse friendly place, however. They use quite a few travelers.

UNC in Chapel Hill also has a big new unit. They also do major surgeries. Lots of travel nurses come through here too. They have done ECMO in the past, but currently are not doing it as far as I know.

In the Raleigh area, the level III nursery is at Wake Med. I would have to highly recommend going there, if there are any open positions. The nurse manager there totally rocks! They have a nice new unit. Most of the nurses there have been there a very long time! They do not use travelers that I am aware.

Also in Raleigh there is Rex who has a pseudo level III. The same NNPs and Neos who work at Wake also staff Rex.

Further out from the triangle area, Pinehurst is a neat golf resort town with a Level III unit. Greenville in the eastern part of the state has a huge level III unit, but I couldn't in good faith recommend it based on what I have been told from NNPs and travelers who have worked there.

In the western part of NC, there are some nice units in Charlotte, Asheville and Winton Salem.

My advice would be to come down as a travel nurse to either Duke or UNC- or do back to back assignments here if you really like the area. Some of the travel nurses at UNC have been there more than a year. That way you can decide how you like things, get your housing paid for etc. yet not be totally committed. That would be my words of wisdom, as a former NICU nurse in the area, and as having worked as a traveler myself.

It gets very humid here in summer, which takes some getting used to unless you were born here! It can be quite miserable in July and August.

PM me if you have more questions or if I can help!

Amy~ :p

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Thank you Amy! This is a lot of really great information!

I hadn't considered travel nursing because it seems too scary. My impression is that you don't get as thorough an orientation as a permanent employee, and may not be welcomed as much by the staff. It's funny, but I don't find it intimidating to apply for a job and find an apartment online, rather than in-person, but I am afraid of trying travel nursing! :confused:

The hospitals you mentioned all have their own websites, and it looks like all of them have openings for fulltime NICU RNs. I applied for a North Carolina license by endorsement, so I'm waiting for the paperwork to be completed. Once that is done, I'll apply for the FT openings and see what happens! Wake Med will definitely be my first choice, if possible. I've also been looking at apartments online, and many of them have central air conditioning, so I guess that will help during the hot, humid summertime!

Thank you again for your help! :D

Maryanne

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Specializes in NICU.

I know this original thread was from a really long time ago, but does anyone have any updates to this info? I'm an experienced NICU RN looking to move to the Durham/Chapel Hill area and wanted some input on the area. I'm also interested in a ballpark hourly wage for 5-7 years of experience. Did anyone have a particularly great, or bad, experience with the NICU's at Duke or UNC?

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