PICU, NICU, CVICU, or ???

[sweetsabo]

Hi all,

I am about to graduate from RN school (ADN) in December. All this time I thought I wanted to be an ER nurse. As I begin my pediatric rotation, I feel this emerging passion to work with kiddos. I am strongly drawn to the NICU, PICU, and CVICU. I am wondering about other peoples' experiences with each of these and how I can make a decision without really ever been a "real nurse" (yet) in each of these departments? Any guidance would be appreciated. I do plan on becoming a Nurse Practitioner one day.

Thanks!

Georgia

[mvg rn]

for me, i know from the time i was 7 that i wanted to be a pediatric nurse, general floor or icu, until i interviewed in a nicu just before graduation. i had never even considered nicu, i only went because the nurse recruiter had a feeling. i know immediately that i had found my "home" in nursing and it has been my passion ever since.

you need to think about what kind of nurse practitioner you want to be. if you want to be a nnp, you need to get as much neonatal experience as you can - go for the nicu. if you want to be a pnp, get as much pediatric experience you can, anywhere you can. if you are not sure, see if you can tour the different units and talk to some of the nurses. also, try to think about you long term goals in life. for the most part a nnp is going to be tied to the nicu and will have hospital hours. a pnp has more choices when it comes to finding a place of employment.

be patient and you will find your passion. good luck!