Please help, want a career in labor/delivery, NICU, PICU

[cabolissa]

I'm currently trying to decide which program fits my needs more, UT's AE MSN or Concordia University's (Irvine, CA) AE BSN (12 months) program. I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to 4-5 more years of college (what with prereq's and working F/T after the 1st year while school P/T). Also, the BSN program only requires 5 prereqs that I don't yet have, and the MSN requires me to complete 8 more plus the GRE. In the end, I'm just wondering how much it will affect my paycheck/overall job satisfaction.

My area of interest is: labor/delivery, NICU, PICU - some form of mother and/or baby. I have two kids (12 and 1) so that's why I'm a bit scared of the MSN program. I figure that I could always go back to complete my MSN later, or once I have the RN, BSN I could do it online at my own convenience. Or, maybe I'll decide I don't need it. Just worried, is a RN, BSN enough these days???

Can anyone give me insight to the three fields and general advice?

[Humbled_Nurse]

Yes, a BSN will be enough for NICU, PICU, or L&D. If you want to work as an RN in one of those areas then you will be considered a staff nurse. A master's is not necessary. You could even get an associates in nursing and you would likely be able to work in any of those areas. Although some hospitals are wanting all BSN's.

I would get some experience (a couple of years at least) as a staff nurse before deciding if you want to go on for your masters. If you did get your masters then you would have to decide if you want to stay at the bedside, get into teaching, management, etc... If you want to stay at the bedside doing direct patient care then you want to go the practitioner route.

Be aware that NICU, PICU, and L&D are totally different areas. I work NICU and love it. I have absolutely no desire to work L&D. It is totally different than NICU. PICU is very intense and there are a lot of nurses that can't handle it. You will see some very heartbreaking situations in the PICU. I would suggest that you contact some local hospitals and ask about shadowing to get a feel for these areas.

Hope that helps!

Good luck!

[cabolissa]

Yes, a BSN will be enough for NICU, PICU, or L&D. If you want to work as an RN in one of those areas then you will be considered a staff nurse. A master's is not necessary. You could even get an associates in nursing and you would likely be able to work in any of those areas. Although some hospitals are wanting all BSN's.

I would get some experience (a couple of years at least) as a staff nurse before deciding if you want to go on for your masters. If you did get your masters then you would have to decide if you want to stay at the bedside, get into teaching, management, etc... If you want to stay at the bedside doing direct patient care then you want to go the practitioner route.

Be aware that NICU, PICU, and L&D are totally different areas. I work NICU and love it. I have absolutely no desire to work L&D. It is totally different than NICU. PICU is very intense and there are a lot of nurses that can't handle it. You will see some very heartbreaking situations in the PICU. I would suggest that you contact some local hospitals and ask about shadowing to get a feel for these areas.

Hope that helps!

Good luck!

Thank you so much for your input. It's in line with my initial assesment. I've just applied to volunteer at the local children's hopital so I can get a better feel for the departments. Thank's for the info on the MS.