byebyebedside

If you are still considering nursing after the experiences you've had as a PCT, I think that's a strong indicator that it might be an okay career path for you. I am one of those people who always says if I was a PCT or had more exposure, I wouldn't have chosen nursing. As far as being "happy" in your career, healthcare is in an extremely tough spot right now, especially pediatrics (if that's where you plan on staying). You have to weigh the pros and cons of what you want your life to look like such as schedule, pay, work life balance and the roles and responsibilities of a beside RN to make the best decision for you. As far as working in clinical research, I know two nurses who left the bedside to do this but they were both second degree nurses with previous degrees in science. Not saying this is a prerequisite by any means, but if this is something you're interested in you should look up some of those positions and see what they require for applicants. This also might be a stretch but if your institution has that role, given your experience with the institution you might be able to shadow someone in that role to see if it fits your expectations. Good luck! Choosing a career path is not easy and just remember that if it isn't the perfect fit with bedside nursing or clinical research nursing, you can always do something else in the field of nursing and it doesn't have to be tech.

I absolutely love the tips! The examples given definitely seemed fair. It seems like nursing is a popular internet famous profession, however social media has lead to termination in other lines of work as well. It is always important to remember that you also represent yourself and your employer and I think it is great that employers have "social media guidelines" now.

I don't think passing exams in nursing school directly correlates with someone's ability to be a nurse however there will only be more exams as you continue on. Nursing school exams are different than other majors (I am second degree nurse with a science degree and I struggled to pass my first foundations exam). Look up nursing exam resources specifically and this may help you understand how to study for exams and how to answer the questions. Don't feel bad if you can't make study partners because some of the most confident sounding classmates are often WRONG and everyone's study method is different. You have to find what works for you and having confidence that you can get through the program is important. You know yourself and what you are capable of much better than anyone on this site. You should put some serious thought into the fact that these grades will stay on your transcript forever if you continue on in the program and eventually want to pursue an MSN or beyond. You should also familiarize yourself with the policy at your college for failing classes/how many C's you can get and continue on in the program. Plenty of wonderful nurses are not "good test takers" but it's up to you to make it work if it's what you really want.

I have only worked at one hospital that didn't charge for parking and as mentioned above it was a small hospital with free parking. One of the hospitals I worked for in a major city required taking a shuttle from a lot that wasn't in a nice/safe feeling neighborhood, leaving your car in an open third-party owned lot and you payed for parking per day which I found to be more annoying than simply taking it out of my check. This hospital did offer free parking to employees for second and third shift on campus, however once they started building new building they closed most of the parking garages and truly did not care where their employees parked. Some employees used pay to park in non-hospital affiliated lots in the surrounding areas that were $20+/day. The waitlist to park in the lots on campus were over 3 years long and they would tell you to join the waitlist on your very first day of orientation and of course, parking on campus was at a significant cost as well. I worked at another hospital that required shuttle service, however you paid upfront for a certain length of time (~$120 for 3 months) and the shuttle would bring you from their very nice hospital owned parking garage (still, not in the best/safest feeling neighborhood). It was very convenient and I was grateful for this option as I was commuting into a big city and it was basically some of the only parking in the area available to commuters. They also offered free parking on campus for night shift. Another hospital I worked at that was affiliated with a university required me to get a pay card from the university to use in the university parking garage and walk ~10 minutes to the hospital. The only way to pay for the parking was by using this card and it had to be reloaded online. The parking was ~$15/day and you had to pay to park regardless of shift time because it was a public/university lot that many people used. While I do think it is seems strange to change staff and patients for parking, as some other have stated larger cities have been doing this for quite some time. It also doesn't seem uncommon to me since I am used to paying for parking in major cities (NYC, Philadelphia, etc.) just to run errands. At all of the hospitals that I mentioned, there were plenty of people who used public transportation, drove in from other states requiring tolls (not reimbursed) and so many people who walked, biked or used other modes of transportation that did not involve parking a vehicle at or near the hospital. Over the years I have learned that most employers do not care how you get to work as long as you get there. In my current role, I pay ~$120 a month that comes directly out of my check and I honestly don't even think about it because I am so grateful to have somewhere to park close to the building I work in.

I have only done one travel assignment but I think the same question can be applied to working at different facilities as a per diem RN in the last year of my career. Keeping track of the different policies can be difficult, however I worked at a lot of facilities that prided themselves on evidence based practice so the policies weren't that different from what I was used to. For my travel assignment, I personally found myself frequently appalled at how they did things, how many unsafe/outdated practices they used and how infrequently they checked in on me as a travel nurse. I took it upon myself to look up policies and procedures and ask the charge nurse for help directing me to the proper resources when necessary. My preceptor did say they have had travel nurses with 10+ years of experience but their skills did not translate to that particular NICU. A lot of the travel nurses I met were very confident and comfortable doing things "their way" and that is always concerning.

As a NICU nurse who has taken care of quite a few patients for the first 11-12 months of their lives and observed how their parents care for and interact with them I can make a few general comments about some of your comments. We usually know if it's the parents first child or not and sometimes it's not even their first NICU baby. We know if they're on maternity/paternity leave, working, have other kids etc. based on social work assessments and general conversation with parents. I can understand being scared, shocked or overwhelmed but I've worked in level II through level IV NICU and not every baby in a level IV NICU is hooked up to scary machines and in critical condition. I have taken care of kids for months and their parents don't call or visit and some of those patients unfortunately pass away at home from preventable events, are admitted back to the NICU with no skin on their bottom because their parent didn't change their diaper or hypernatremia because their formula was mixed incorrectly. Obviously I do teaching and encourage parents to participate care but there have been times when a parent will say "the baby's diaper is wet" and leave the room to do something else or go back to playing on their phone and wait for you to change it. Parents love picking out outfits and linens and taking pictures of their baby and all the "fun" stuff but when it comes to poop explosion diapers and the baby being difficult to console or vomiting all over themselves they want nothing to do with it. Cleaning up poop explosions, vomiting and consoling are regular parts of parenting so I don't think a NICU environment means you can pawn it off on the nurse because they're there and you don't want to deal with it even though you'd be dealing with it at home. As far as parents being tired, parents will usually express when they're tired, or they'll sleep at the bedside or whatever the case may be and of course I do all of the care like I usually do. At the beginning of my shift I usually have a conversation with parents about whether they want to be included in cares and feeds or if they want me to do everything. But when someone is watching videos on their phone during their child's care times and show zero interest in participating in cares, I do believe that is concerning. Sleeping through a newborn's feed times is concerning as well. I've even had parents blatantly tell me they won't wake up to feed the baby in the middle of the night when they go home. I will always be there for my patients but I can't force their parents to be there for them. Every minute they spend on this earth is precious and I know a lot of parents are angry and disengaged because things didn't go the way they wanted. I do think I have a right to be frustrated when I see a sweet innocent baby crying out and their parents don't even flinch and wait for the nurse to comfort their baby. In my experience working in pediatrics, I have had patients with a nanny, au pair or night nurse stay at the bedside. Obviously, the NICU is a different setting visitor wise but maybe some of these patients will have nannies when they go home.

I have worked with a few nurses who transitioned from adult care to NICU but only one nurse who transitioned from NICU to adult care. Very few NICU nurses leave and I do think you would be pigeonholing yourself in the NICU world. I started with a general pediatrics background and I have worked in several NICUs. I would say the NICU is it's own unique environment and I'm not sure how your bedside experience in a NICU would transfer to community mental health. You may take care of some NICU babies who end up discharged to home on hospice care depending on the acuity of the NICU. Regarding the fact that it's a new grad residency program, explore the terms of the residency just in case you find that the NICU isn't a great fit and you want to switch to something else. Make sure you will have the freedom to leave if you change your mind.

I work in pediatrics because I love kids and I moved to the NICU because I love babies however, the lack of parental involvement is shocking and frustrating. I am leaving the bedside for good and one of the reasons is because I didn’t get into this profession to take care of the parents. Yes the NICU can be a scary place and I’ve heard every excuse/explanation in the book about parental stress, fear, etc. but at the end of the day you’re still a parent and you need to be there for your child. I can’t be the only NICU nurse who feels like a nanny when I’m changing a diaper on a room air kid while their parent sits on their phone. I also think it’s ridiculous that I often have to prompt parents to care for their child. If your baby eats every 3 hours, I shouldn’t have to prompt you to do that. And my favorite it when parents ask me to wake them up every 3 hours. Like grow up, be accountable, set an alarm and take your role as a parent seriously. I am not trying to get out of doing any work but I don’t work in a birthing hospital, I have no interest in L&D and I guess I struggle with parents relying so heavily on the nurse to provide what seems to be basic infant care when they are at the bedside and seem disinterested in participating. Are there any other NICU nurses that share this frustration? Do you work at hospitals that have care partnership agreements with parents to get them more involved?