oklapedsRN

Hello! Yes, I do have an update! I accepted a position in one of the NICUs in the city I live in! I am very excited about it and so thankful I decided to apply. I had no issue with having my last 3 years of experience being in a pediatrician's office. During my interview I just told them the truth - which was that I truly desired to work in the NICU and I thought about it on a daily basis since I left the children's hospital. And pretty much everything I said in my original post was discussed during the interview in some manner. I think being genuine and honest is the best route!

Hello! I am seeking advice from some nurses ? I am a pediatric RN thinking about applying to 2 different NICUs. I believe one is level 3 and one is level 4. I have been in pediatrics since I became a nurse 5 years ago. The first 2 years I worked on a general surgical/neuro/ortho floor at a children's hospital. For the last 3 years I've been working at a busy pediatrician's office. When I worked in the children's hospital we frequently got pulled to the NICU, and I loved it more than my own floor. I enjoyed the patients more and I also enjoyed the more structured environment. I felt like the NICU had more order and the regular children's floor was more chaotic. I highly considered switching to the NICU after 2 years of being there, but I was tired of night shift and that's why I left for a more regular, day time job. I felt like I have literally thought about the NICU daily since I left the hospital LOL. But these are my concerns... I worked in the NICU quite a bit, but since I floated I always took care of feeder growers. Sometimes they would have a few lines such as fluids or TPN & lipids, maybe CPAP, bili beds, but usually not too critical. I'm worried that the reason I enjoyed it so much is because I basically only took care of feeder growers. I have no clue if I would like the more critical patients or not. I also am unsure if I would be able to mentally handle a baby who passed away on my time clock. I think I would blame myself even if I knew it had nothing to do with me. I really miss a lot of the skills from the hospital, such as mickey buttons, tube feedings, jp drains, stringing fluids, etc. The only skill I don't really miss is starting IV's but I think thats mainly because it was always on toddlers who fought back. I unfortunately can lack confidence in myself sometimes and I tend to worry easily, so I know I'm my own worst enemy. But I desire to be the best nurse I can be and I'm a hard worker. I'm very detail oriented. I want to find somewhere that I will want to work for years and years. I am not one to hop around. With all that being said (sorry so long!!), any advice or thoughts? Thank you guys!