Not cut out for NICU

NicuRN628 · May 1, 2015

Do you not like working in the NICU because you have made mistakes and feel bad or because you genuinely don't enjoy the NICU? Working in the NICU is not easy, and it does not help comparing yourself to other nurses on your floor, new grads or not. Mistakes will be made, it happens to everyone. The important thing is to learn from your mistakes. If I were you I would talk to your manager about your feelings and see what they think, maybe they feel that with a couple extra weeks of orientation you will be ready to be on your own. I understand your confidence is low, but as long as you feel comfortable asking questions when you don't know something and are wiling to put in the time and effort to learn you might surprise yourself with the nurse you become. I would not give up the NICU job unless you are 100% sure it is not for you. That's just my two cents :) keep your chin up, it gets better!

NicuGal, MSN, RN · May 2, 2015

If you truly don't feel

comfortable and are completely miserable go to your unit manager and talk with her. Since you like gainers and growers ask if you can transfer to a step down unit, if they have one or to the normal nursery. Not everyone is meant to work NICU and unless you have done a residency in one, it is hard to realize what all goes into working there.

I have precepted several people like yourself and no one

thought any less of them for transferring. Don't stay if you aren't comfortable. Good luck to you!

tinkerbell419 · May 2, 2015

Hey hun, i am a new nurse in NICU in the UK and feel the same as you. The other day I had acute migraine with all the machines going off. I had to hang and run fluids, do a blood transfusion. There was a load going on but I learnt loads too. There is a lot of information to retain on everything, calculations, information, etc. Prioritisation takes practice. Once you learn about conditions you will make those connections.

Read the guidelines on the computer, keep a notebook, and keep practicing. Ask the nurses how they make their decisions and why. Speak to the doctors. They like to explain procedures too. It takes a long time to learn hun. I feel overwhelmed at times too honestly its nuts at times I end up getting migraine.

Unfortunately nurses are not nice. Ive actually seen some talking about others ******** and tittle tattling..its pretty sad behaviour.

Just try to learn a little everyday..small steps at a time. If u make a mistake remember and dont do it again.The first year is the most hardest. Your a new nurse and you've got to make the connections on limited knowledge and experience making the transition from a little rosebud into a big beautiful flower. And one day you will bloom. Just hang on in there. Im with you holding your hand. :)

Baby Wrangler · May 4, 2015

I know it may sound clichÃ©d, but as tinkerbell419 said above, the first year really is the hardest. I started out as a new grad too and that first year I won't tell you the number of times I cried after a shift. I seriously thought of quitting too, talked to my manager about it and she made me re-think the situation. I was comparing myself to people I got hired with too, one of whom was super confident and looked like she was breezing through. I know that it might seem like NICU only has room for people who like high-intensity situations, who are confident and assertive and do everything quickly, but I think being detailed-oriented and conscientious is equally important.

Prioritization was the most important thing I learned to get over being overwhelmed. There might be a ton of things coming at you at once but try to prioritize what needs to be done now, what can be delayed and what tasks can be clustered together. Jot down everything you need to do and chart later.

Try giving it a year, and best of luck. :)

rnkaytee · May 5, 2015

All I can tell you is my experience - I made a mistake one of my first shifts and went home crying. I thought I didn't deserve to work there and wanted to transfer to Peds. My point is, 15 years later and I'm a great NICU nurse and am in NNP school - wouldn't choose to do anything else. Only you can decide but are you honestly assessing yourself? If you truly don't like the setting, that's something that won't change (I loved the adrenaline rush!). If you like the babies and can take the setting, I would talk to your manager to get more of a sense of how you're really doing.

NRS86 · May 5, 2015

First, you are VERY lucky to land a nicu job as a new grad, so I would really think about leaving. Also, as a new nurse it is going to be stressful and overwhelming any where you go. I started as a new grad on med/surgâ€¦ I hated it with a passion and would cry constantly because I felt so lost and overwhelmedâ€¦ 2 years later I'm still there and still hate it BUT I have a lot more confidence and can handle it a lot better its just not my passion so thats why I am miserable. Yes ICU patients are higher acuity but it's nice to have 1:1 or 1:2 care so your total focus is on them rather then 5+ patients spending most your shift running from room to room and can be just as stressful but in a different way. So I guess what I am trying to say is each area has its pros and cons so just really think about it and give it more time but if you know deep down inside that its not for you then thats okay. Thats the great thing about nursing is that there are lots of areas to try :)

tallynurse · May 7, 2015

I started as a new grad in a NICU in FL too. It can be really overwhelming and I was not good with my time management so that was difficult at first. But like others have stated, being a new grad anywhere is such a huge learning curve. I feel like that's especially true in NICU since most nursing schools really don't spend anytime on the specialty. I would think that if they are extending your orientation they probably see potential but realize you just need a little more time. That's ok. If you work in a NICU that has a seperate NICU III and NICU II ask to be started in NICU II once you get off orientation. That's where I was started and even though at the time I was disappointed to not be in NICU III, I realize that having stable feeder/growers gave me time to work on my skills and learn in a less crazy environment. When you make a mistake ask what you could have done to avoid it, learn from it and move on. Dwelling on it and beating yourself up over it won't help. Everyone makes mistakes. Ask lots of questions. Never be afraid to ask questions. It's always better to ask what you think is a stupid question when it comes to patients. Give it some time and if you still don't think it's right for you then you can change to another unit. But you're probably just being hard on yourself, everyone is harder on themselves.

BiotoBSNtoFNP · May 7, 2015

Do you not like working in the NICU because you have made mistakes and feel bad or because you genuinely don't enjoy the NICU?

Yes i also wonder if the OP doesnt like the nicu bc of the learning curve and mistakes or bc he/she actually does not like the nicu. If you ask to transfer, you will restart orientation and have a whole new learning curve with a new and different skillset and also make mistakes. Mistakes are as a new grad are happen. You are learning. You are improving. Plenty of nurses have their orientation extended. I would stick it out for a bit because you have No idea what the other units are like and how you will handle them. Transferring may not fix the concerns you have with nicu because it may be a new grad thing, not a nicu things :)

Also FWIW, i know plenty of ICU nurses who are not the typical ICU type who love high stress/high intensity situations. They generally hate those situations but they do just fine as ICU nurses!

Hang in there, you CAN do this!

BSNbeauty, BSN, RN · May 14, 2015

I have a different opinion than the rest. NICU may not be your niche and that is okay ! I found out early on that ICU was not for MW. Now I'm a proud Post partum nurse. Wouldn't trade it for the world

LisaNICUrn, BSN · May 14, 2015

I've only been in the NICU For 6 months, so I still make mistakes every single night (I work night shift) and learn even more things each shift. Like everyone else has said, don't beat yourself up. Our orientation is generally 12 weeks long, older nurses have less and some nurses need more. Some people learn at different levels, some just take longer to catch on but don't just throw your NICU career out the door because of that. If they didn't think you had it in you, and if many other nurses didn't need that extra time as well, then hospitals wouldn't even offer it. NICU is so specific, it not only depends on your learning curve, it depends on the babies you have at the time, if you don't have babies with lines, PIV, PICC, vent's, things like that, then you can't get experience so sometimes it takes a little longer. Our hospital doesn't nurses handle micro or vents for a year so I don't worry about that, but I still go and learn as much as I can when I have time.

The only thing I would say is it sounds like you might not like the NICU. Like you said, you don't like the vents, micros, and level 3 or 4 definitely doesn't seem like your niche. It definitely isn't for everyone, it is very stressful, that is for sure. It is exhausting, even level 2 because it's so busy from the beginning of your shift to the end.

You stated you need someplace of lower acuity, so that tells me right there that the NICU might not be for you, because even in a level 2, you can have a baby aspirate, and brady's or desats, and it's still important to be very quick and diligent. What about L & D or mother/baby nursery. Even think of that. You still get to be with babies, but you take care of the mothers as well.

danielle2000, MSN, RN · May 14, 2015

Don't feel bad not everyone is feeling the NICU. In my humble beginnings I wanted to be a Labor & Delivery nurse, NOT!!! I was not feeling it and give mad homage to my fellow L&D nurses. You just have to find your niche.