CapeMaui

Take the dream job. You have to do what is best for you and you will be better off in the long run.

That is aweful! We definitely use gown, gloves, and maskehen the isolation requires!! I work in the ICU (neo and pees) and many have suppressed immune system, if we are not careful, they can get really sick! Plus, don't want to bring anything home to my kids!!

Thanks Jolie, that's a great idea, I was also just thinking that myself. :) I think since we're going to start trying very soon, I will go to my OB for a blood test. I'm sure she'll let me know if I'm all clear or what I need to do. Thanks again everyone, for your input! :)

The 2 kids I had, one was a premie and the other was IUGR, no spots, but very septic though. I think we test the kids when either they're very sick or have a very bad nippling issue (bad coordination). The other R/O CMV/Torch babies were all negative as well, so I'm hoping it's less common than I think.

Gompers, You're right, I'm sorry, that was a dumb assumption on my part... I work in a big city hospital and we do see a lot of babies born to Moms who used drugs or live in shelters, etc. I've only had 2 babies with CMV+ and a couple with r/o CMV, but other nurses have told me that they have had quite a few. That's why I thought prob most nurses in the city hospitals would have had exposure and therefore + for the antibody... Apparently, it's more prevalent in day care health workers than in the hospital, as we are more consciencious of universal precaution. I'm just wondering what would be the effects on the fetus should the woman get preggo while having an active infection, primary or not...

What if the person has an active infection going on? CDC site says that as long as the infection was more than 6 months before preg, the fetus would be safe.... however, what if the person still has an active infection (primary or not)? I'm sure most nurses working in the NICU or working with children in general are of the 80% with + CMV IgG antibody... there's no way of knowing if there's an active infection since it's asymptomatic in healthy adults... will it affect the fetus when the woman becomes preggo?

So, apparently, > 80% of healthy adults are already CMV IgG antibody (+), does anyone know what this means to people who are looking to get pregnant? Does this affect the fetus the same way an actual exposure to CMV does? I mean, I know that + for CMV IgG antibody just mean that the person has been exposed to CMV at some point in their lives, IgM must be tested and a culture will probably be needed to see if there's an active infection going on... But what is the risk to the fetus??

Thank you everyone!! Your responses have put my mind more at ease! I was so worried about all the xrays going on around me, and with the CMV, I always glove to change diapers, so I feel better about that. With our babies that are r/o or CMV/Torch+, we always gown and glove too, I guess it is just in case the urine leaked through diaper and gets on the clothes.... As for pregnancy, thanks for all the tips/advice. I keep hearing scary stories about how so and so couldn't get preg b/c she worked nights.... hopefully that won't be me. I wil definitely rest as much as I can when I do get preg. I'm just not sure how soon to tell the NM, etc to avoid CMV/Torch assignments. Since I've only been here 5 mons, I don't want that to be perceived badly.... Then again, who's to say that I'll get it on the first try on nights Thanks again, if anyone thinks of anything else, PLEASE SHARE :)

Hello all, I'm a new nurse to the NICU and I love every minute I spend with the babies! I feel very fortunate to be workinging exactly where I have always wanted! :) So, I've been working at my unit for about 5 months now, during which, I've taken care of babies who are CMV+ (following universal precaution of course!) and have also inadvertenly got exposed to radiation when some of the technicians fail to annouce "xrays" before they click that clicker of theirs.... Since I'm not pregnant at the moment, I've not had any issue with the above.... However, now that my husband and I have decided to start a family, I'm very worried about any "accidental" radiation or CMV exposure. Has anyone run into this issue working in the NICU? Any suggestions? Should I tell my managers as soon as I find out that I'm pregnant to help avoid these situations? How early did you tell your managers that you were preg? Also, I'm working nights, has anyone had any difficulties getting pregnant working nights? And once you are pregnant, any difficulties with the pregnancy? I've heard/read that working nights can increase the risk of preterm labor/delivery.... is this true? If anyone has been through a pregnancy while working nights, how did you deal with the exhaustions? Any tips on keeping healthy? Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Hi All, Awesome information here about how to get some zzz's while preggo while working nights. Would love to pick your brains on preggo and working nights. I'm going on 12-hr nights in a few weeks and my DH and I are planning our first pregnancy. We're giving ourselves some extra time as I think my bio clock may get pretty screwy from the whole night shift thing... Did anyone had a harder time getting preg? Once I do get preggo though, any tips on how to fight the fatigue while on nights? Also, is it better to do 3 nights in a row or 2 on/2off? Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Thanks everyone! All I can say is that I'm so relieved!! Good luck Jennerizer & LM_Neonurse (I'm guess you'll be working in the NICU as well? :) )

I passed!!! I passed with 75 questions and am now a RN!! I've also started in a level 3 NICU! I'm so excited! I'm also so relieved that I can finally relax and do some crafts :) Wanted to share my NCLEX experience and hope it'll be helpful to some. Out of the 75 questions, I got 2 multiple multiples, medium difficulty. One on Hep A and I can't remember the other. No math questions, tons of pharm though, probably because I got the first one wrong (I realized my mistake 2 questions later). Tons of nutrition too, again, probably b/c that's one of my weaker areas. I had only one cardiac question, but it was definitely a difficult one. I think I got it right, so I didn't get anymore. Lots of teaching questions and priortization questions. Then, of course, there's delegation, some were quite tricky. I had a few psychosocial questions too, but I couldn't really tell what part of the test plan it fell under. I think most of the M/S contents were tested through the priortization questions as I didn't get many straight m/s q's. Anyway, that's all I can remember for now. My only tip would be that if you know you have a weak area, study it, b/c the CAT format will pick that up. Good luck!

I've been using the Kaplan trainer CD and got 68%, 79%, 67%, and 63% (took this last one when I was really tired and late at night) on the 4 tests I've taken. But I don't really feel ready and I know that with anxiety, I'll probably do a lot worse... So I'm not sure if I should go take the test or not.... But it looks like I'm on par with those who've already passed the NCLEX, so maybe I should thanks again for your help!

Hi, For those of you who used Kaplan, what were you getting for an average score on the practice tests? Thanks!

Congrats to everyone on your new NICU jobs! :balloons: I'm also starting in a level III NICU as a new grad on 2/7. I can't wait! :) I'm very nervous but SO excited!! Good luck with everything! Here are some tips I've received from other RNs for staring in the NICU: 1) Ask questions!! Lots of questions! 2) Don't ruffle any feathers - many nurses have been there a long time, don't come in with an "I know it all" (don't show off) or "I'm a BSN and you're not" attitude. 3) Be happy, eager & enthusiastic, but DON'T show fear (the RNs told me that some nurses do "eat their young", so don't show fear as that'll just worsen the situation) If anyone else has anything else to add, please do :)

Sorry PSUNURSE09, I didn't get any replies to my questions. I can give you my impression of them though. They are definitely very professional and I really liked the nurse manager at the NICU, she's really great and very very nice! I got the impression that they are very good to their staff and really care about their career development. With that said, if you are looking for an intimate setting, than Mt. Sinai is probably not the best choice. It is a huge teaching hospital. So although the people there were extremely professional and nice, I didn't get that "family" feel. No fault of Mt. Sinai though, it's just too big. Hope this helps.

Congrats! I would love to do NNP in the future. I'm a fresh BSN graduate and just accepted a job in a level III NICU. The best thing, they have 2 NNPs in the unit! Plus the RNs get scheduled to go to all high risk deliveries. I'm VERY excited and can't wait till orientation! I totally agree about getting work experience b/f starting the NP track! I plan to apply after I have worked at least 12-18 months, if not longer. I hear some people complain about having to work first b/f starting, but seriously, in a unit like NICU, I don't see how someone without experience can possibly go straight through to NP program. Just my humble opinion of course :) Congrats again and good luck!

Hi Pokey, Thanks for the good wishes! Yes, I still live in NY and I'm actually looking some city hospitals as well. And yes, mt. sinai pay is awesome. However, I realized that $$ is not everything for me at this point. I want to get into the unit that I really want, and that's most important thing to me. So there's no telling where I may end up where are you working now?

Hi Pokey, Thanks for the good wishes! Yes, I still live in NY and I'm actually looking some city hospitals as well. And yes, mt. sinai pay is awesome. However, I realized that $$ is not everything for me at this point. I want to get into the unit that I really want, and that's most important thing to me. So there's no telling where I may end up where are you working now?

Hi, Anyone out there that currently works for or had worked for Mount Sinai hospital? I'm considering working there and would love some feedback on what you think of the hospital, the environment for the nurses, the patients, etc. What is the support structure like for a RN and management you've come across? How do the nurses get along, etc. Please feel free to PM me if you don't feel comfortable writing the feedback on the forum. Thanks so much!

Hi, Anyone out there that currently works for or had worked for Stamford hospital? I'm considering working there and would love some feedback on what you think of the hospital, the environment for the nurses, the patients, etc. What is the support structure like for a RN and management you've come across? How do the nurses get along, etc. Please feel free to PM me if you don't feel comfortable writing the feedback on the forum. Thanks so much!

The tuition reimbursement amount you mentioned sound really low. For example, Montefiore pays for 18 credits a year regardless of cost, NY Presbytarian pays 10,000 a year, and Stamford Hospital (CT) pays 80% of tuition regardless of cost as well. The list goes on. During career fair at my school, most other hospitals, like Mount Sinai, all have decent tuition reimbursement, the lowest that I could remember was 5,000 for the year. I would look into other hospitals if yours doesn't have a great benefit. The way I look at it is that I would be working and only going for NP P/T, so the amount of tuition reimbursement I've come across would cover it, year to year. What hospitals have you talked to about shadowing? I didn't actually shadow a Neonatologist or a NNP. I talked to NNPs through friends that know them and Neonatologist when I was shadowing a nurse in the NICU. My advise would be to definitely ck with SB to see if they can hook you up to talk to a NNP and a Neonatologist. Most NNPs are very willing to talk to students. Once you get a dialogue going, see if they'll let you come in and see their day for a couple of hours. I hope this is helpful. As for pros vs. cons between NNP and Neo MD (the word's too long to type ), for me, it really was a matter of time and money. From what I can tell, both really enjoy their job (who wouldn't!) and the NNPs are just as independent as the MDs and command just as much respect (I think this comes with experience and the NNP showing they know what they're doing). However, I am married and planning to start a family in 2 years. With that said, have a look at my list: Pros for NNP: * flexible school schedule * less time to achieve * less money to achieve * ability to continue to work * have a family * good pay * holistic approach! * get to work with the babies! Cons for NNP: * not all hospitals have positions for NNPs * not all hospitals are good to NNPs, some have bad working situation, e.g. lack of respect, bad hours, etc. * inpatient only (but I think this is changing) Pros for MD: * get to work with the babies! * VERY good pay * can work outpatient Cons for MD: * VERY long schooling, no p/t as far as I know * won't really have time to tend to family * very expensive to obtain (4 years of med school vs. 2 years NNP, that's f/t) * crazy hours during residency, fellowship, etc. As I've mentioned above, family is first for me. After seeing the list I've made, it was clear to me that NNP is the way to go, for me. You'll need to make a list for yourself and find out what is important to you. Once you can prioritize and make a list, the decision should be a bit easier. Hope this helps. Good luck. p.s. thanks for the info on SB undergrad! I'm always interested to see what everyone thinks of NY area schools. I've always heard great things about SB for their other programs, so I was just curious about the nursing :) Best!

erilynn17 First things first, don't worry too much about cost of post-grad education as most hospitals will pay for it when you work for them. Plus, all the schools you've mentioned are probably just expensive as Columbia. Just out of curiosity, why couldn't you do the distance learning program at Stony Brook? Also, how do you like SB for their undergrad? As for NNP vs. Neonatologist, IMHO, it really depends on what you want out of your career. Like Mac23 has mentioned, it's a long journey to becoming a Neonatologist and you would be responsible for all of the cost. For me, the choice of NNP over Neonatologist is not an easy one. I have a couple of friends who's Dads are Neonatalogists and I shadowed one for a few hours during one of my NICU visits and I LOVE what they do. I have yet to talke to a NNP, but so far, from RNs that I've talked to, the NNPs love their jobs too! Perhaps you should talk to both a Neonatologist and a NNP before deciding on what you want to do. Good luck!! :)

Thanks Ally! That's awesome to know! I am so glad to hear very positive things about NNPs. I am a little worried about the long term viability of the position, but it is my dream job! :) Thanks again!

I know that most hospital will pay for post-grad tuition, I'm hoping to find out more about tuition forgiveness program for the loan from undergrad Will definitely email/leave msgs here. Good luck and keep us posted when you take your board!! :)