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I haven't had any issues being a male in the NICU. Just remain professional and remember that you are dealing with not only babies in a fragile state but also parents who are going through a very difficult time. In the end, as long as you are caring for their baby, most parents just see you as a nurse and not a gender. You'll do great!

My best advice: Remind yourself that you don't even know what you don't know. Give yourself grace and be humble. Just because school is out, remember that this is when you really start learning. Take care of yourself but train your mind and body to keep up with the stressors you'll face mentally and physically. And for the love of God, play nice with your co-workers and patients because if you don't, they'll both make your life a living hell.

I certainly wouldn't discredit either side of the coin. You can learn a lot from PCT work but it isn't pivotal to being a good nurse. I work for a software company full-time (so my wife and I can have benefits) but I make sure that when clinical rotations are in full swing I'm being very observant, diligent, and always willing to jump right in there. If I could get a different job that allowed me more time for school or to get some experience, I'd do it, but unfortunately there is no way I'm going to scrape by or walk around with no insurance. I attend clinical rotations with women who work in both hospital and LTC facilities as PCTs that aren't nearly as hands on or willing just because of attitude. Now that may have a leg up on me when it comes to securing a job but hustling my tail off when I'm on site certainly doesn't hurt. I have to make a name for myself through hard work and a positive attitude while I can. You can't assume any one path makes a better nurse, in the end it all revolves around hard work, the willingness of the student and their competency. HodgieRN is right though, it doesn't matter what you do for work as long as you make school your priority.

Figured I'd throw in my two cents. I got lucky enough to secure a spot in a nights and weekends course; we meet Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights from 4-8PM and I have clinical rotations on Saturday. I currently work M-F 8-5, but I'm fortunate enough to be able to leave 1.5 hours early on TWTh by coming in half an hour early those days and not taking a lunch break. I have a one-hour commute each way for work/school to home, so typically I leave the house around 6:30AM and don't get home until 9PM or after with the exclusion of Monday & Friday, since I only work until 5PM those days. On clinical days (Saturday), I typically leave the house around 5AM and don't get home until 5PM. Fortunately, I do not have any children yet but I do have a wife that I like to keep happy! I said all that to say this, I maintain A's in all my classes, always get satisfactory grades on clinical paperwork and never miss or show up late to work or school. I work because I absolutely have to, I work because taking out loans was not an option and I certainly couldn't get any grant money, I work because I've worked since I was twelve years old in some aspect or another, I work because no one else is going to help pay the bills and put food on the table. Point being, if you want to do well in school, the choice is yours and yours alone. It is up to you to bust your a$$. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who said this or that, it doesn't matter how this person feels what does matter is this: when the alarm sounds at 4AM even though you were up until midnight you get up and go, it matters that you be the best you can be in clinical rotations, it matters that you form good relationships with your peers and potential employers. If you want to be a nurse bad enough you'll find a way; you'll clean commodes, you'll get by on two hours of sleep, you'll sell stuff you can live without, you'll push until you've got nothing left because life is what we make of it. I do a steady week of work and classes and yet I still take my wife out on dates, I still make it to church, I still make it to the gym, all because I keep pushing. Don't let present you deter future you from success. Five years from now, don't look back and wish you'd done this or that. I've been there and it sucks. In nursing school, just like life, if you push yourself, you'll be amazed at what the mind and body are capable of. If your dream is to be a nurse, it is only your fault if you don't achieve that dream. Pardon the extremely long post.. got on a roll, I suppose.