Pediatric OR RN wanting to go to NICU

[jdsmom, RN]

I have been a pediatric operating room nurse for 7 years and am feeling like I want to get out of the OR. In the population we serve I have seen infants and preemies all the way down to 22 weekers under 1 kg. Now, I know that OR nursing is very different from bedside nursing, so I would have a lot to learn, but I am thinking about transferring to a level 2 Nursery at a closer hospital. I am just tired of the rush, rush, rush of the OR and lack of interaction with patients and families. I did work in an adult unit for a year after nursing school, so I do have some sense of bedside nursing. Any thoughts, input, advice from anyone out there? Esp. if you were an OR nurse and left to do bedside?

Thanks!

Kristen

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

In a Lvl II NICU, you will not care for babies that premature or that little. Those kinds of babies get sent to a Lvl III or IV. NICU can be very busy. You may have 3-4 bottle feeders that each may take 30 min to eat. By the time you get done feeding them all and charting, it is time to start all over again.

[jdsmom, RN]

Thank you for the feedback! I definitely like busy, and I think starting out in level 2 might give me time to learn without the stress of level 3 preemies and newborns. I appreciate you taking the time to respond :)

[Julius Seizure]

You may have 3-4 bottle feeders that each may take 30 min to eat. By the time you get done feeding them all and charting, it is time to start all over again.

You need to have the patience of a saint to spend all day trying to bottle feed babies that don't have a coordinated suck/swallow. Call me names if you must, but please assign me to the babies with NG tubes.

[babyNP., APRN]

You need to have the patience of a saint to spend all day trying to bottle feed babies that don't have a coordinated suck/swallow. Call me names if you must, but please assign me to the babies with NG tubes.

All depends on your perspective, I guess. I did limit my bottle feeding to 20 minutes a piece, but frequently wondered how I got so lucky to have such an awesome job, lol. Now picu kids, that sounds like a holy terror to me and frequently was, whenever I floated, lol.

[neonn965]

Keep in mind with a level II, as pointed out above, you will be doing an AWFUL lot of feeding babies. They won't have IVs for the most part or any respiratory issues. Maybe a home-going cannula on a very stable kid. They will really just be learning to eat before going home. With a level II assignment sometimes I feel like a daycare provider. I work in a very high acuity level IV unit though. What I am trying to say is you don't use a lot of "skills" in a level II that you have probably utilized quite a bit in your current role. I am not saying there is anything wrong with level II nurses, and honestly they are truly amazing at working with families and feeding babies. Just wondering if you would have a hard time with switch from OR to a level II. You have experience with the 24 weekers and neonates with birth defects so why not extend that to a higher acuity NICU? I think if you liked OR but are looking for a similar role at the bedside a surgical NICU would be your best bet. You'd be sending those exact kids you already have taken care of to the OR and then getting them back after their procedure.

[NICUmiiki, DNP, NP]

Thank you for the feedback! I definitely like busy, and I think starting out in level 2 might give me time to learn without the stress of level 3 preemies and newborns. I appreciate you taking the time to respond :)

I work in a birthing hospital with a Level 3 NICU. We have a full surgery service and only usually send out for ECMO and hearts.

We start orientation with Level 2. You don't move on to level 3 until you sign out of level 2. It really doesn't take that long to get the hang of Level 2 enough to work independently. Don't feel that you have to start in a Level 2. Most of my unit were new grads.