PICU to NICU - Suggestions & Thoughts?

[imaginations]

Hi All,

I completed my new graduate year as an RN at a tertiary children's hospital (five months on a speciality ward and seven months in the ICU - where we cared for newborns through to teens). At the termination of the graduate program I was offered ongoing employment in the ICU however I elected to return to study full-time in a field not directly related to nursing. (I had studied part time during the final four months of the year and found it challenging to say the least.)

I have since studied full time and excelled, with excellent grades and a number of exciting opportunities, including a scholarship to travel overseas in the new year to conduct research however these are not directly related to clinical nursing. I intend to continue my studies in the new year however I would like to return to nursing part time. I miss babies too much & even the hint of intensive-care related issues on television remind me how much I enjoy working in the ICU.

I am looking at seeking a part-time or casual position in a NICU (which consists of special care, high dependency and intensive care cots) at a major, non-children's hospital with mother-baby services. However I am concerned that my experience so far and the fact that I am not seeking full time employment will count against me.

In particular, I am concerned that my experience is paediatric, rather than neonatal. In my previous ICU we cared for newborns (and brand brand new bubs) but not a typical NICU population of prems, mec asps etc. Typically these babies were chronic lung or cardiac babies. I have cared for a lot of older infants, ex-prems with chronic lung requiring ongoing ventilatory support but my actual NICU experience is limited to two weeks in a tertiary NICU as a final year student.

I hope to be able to sell myself to the NICU nursing manger directly by sending an opening email and resume. I would be interested to hear if you had any thoughts that may help me improve my chances of gaining a position in the NICU in a non-fulltime capacity with my experience to date.

Thank you :)