infantsonly

I am a new NNP, just coming off orientation. Going into nursing, I knew my goal was to become an NNP. Much like you, I tried to learn as much as possible while working as a bedside nurse, always asking questions and reading about different conditions to better understand. I started an NNP program with a year and a half of experienxe, worked full time throughout the program, and graduated with 3.5 years of RN experience. During that time I continued to learn as much as possible at both clinical and working as an RN, I volunteered for critical assignments, to be a part of the high risk delivery team, and passed the RNC-NIC. At first I got pushback from many of the experienced nurses on my unit for going back to school so quickly, but by the time I started clinicals I was no longer receiving pushback and really felt supported by all of the nurses on my unit. I received several job offers (even before graduating) and ended up accepting a position where my last clinical rotation was. I do not feel my less years of experience as a NICU RN has hindered my education or my abilities/potential as an NNP. I am new so maybe my opinion will change, but just as there are many things to enjoy or look forward to as an RN (such as helping a parent hold their infant for the first time), there are enjoyable parts or being an NNP. Good luck with your decision!

Calling people names? What names did I call you?

Taking one or two people for what they say regarding an entire profession is very narrow minded, especially when you only have experience at one hospital. I have experience with many different hospitals and I completely disagree with your assumptions. Good luck to you in your profession..

I completely disagree. I am graduating this Spring and have had an NNP job signed since last year at a large teaching hospital. There is a shortage of NNPs. I have started seeing some hospitals utilize PAs in NICUs but the majority of neonatal providers I have seen (besides neonatologists) are nurse practitioners. PAs have a broad knowledge base while NNPs have been trained exclusively in the neonatal setting.

I am graduating from an NNP program in a couple of months. My experience is from my work as an RN in a level III NICU and from my clinical rotations in various NICUs. I care for 7-10 patients that vary in acuity. We split our patient load amongst provides (residents and NNPs) and we round on our patients with a fellow and an attending, a nutritionist, and many times a pharmacist. The acuity does not play into if a physician is following a patient or the NNP. We may have the sickest kid on the unit, especially because we follow the same patients from day to day and acuity changes. We present the changes we want to make with the patient and write orders (medications, ventilator or respiratory settings, TPN, etc.). We attend high risk deliveries and resuscitate infants, admit infants, and perform procedures that include intubation, UVC/UAC line placement, PICC line placement, arterial punctures, chest tube placement, and lumbar punctures. The NNPs I have worked with work 12-24 hour shifts. I have accepted a position at a large level IV NICU for after I graduate and pass boards and will be working 3 12's a week. The NNPs cover 24/7.

I will be graduating from ECU's NNP program in May. It is a great program, they have a 100% first time pass rate for boards. I did the program full time while working full time and it has been really busy, but I have learned so much. I knew my clinical rotation sites well in advance (I knew where I would be for all semesters in the fall and didn't start clinicals until the following summer. The professors want to help you succeed. If you have any specific questions let me know!

If you are looking for a less stressful job, then NICU is definitely not for you. Working in a special care nursery or a newborn nursery would be a better option if you want to work with infants. You will care for critical infants if you work in a level 3 or 4 NICU. Infants that are on ventilators, oscillators, receiving nitric oxide, on numerous drips, etc. These infants may weigh less than a pound and have a limited number of lines to infuse through, meaning you constantly have to check compatibiltities, and make decisions about what needs to infuse through where. Infants that code, infants that go into DIC, infants with cardiac abnormalities pre or post operation. There will be infants with HIE and require cooling and rewarming... deliveries that don't go as planned... While you might not have an unstable patient every shift, you will still have them and need to know what to do and how to care for them. I'm not trying to discourage you, but it is an ICU, and it is stressful. Good luck!

No on call time on my unit. When we are short staffed we get nurses from other units to take stable infants, and we call/text those who aren't working and get volunteers to come in. When it comes down to it if we don't get more staff we work with what we have. If that means 4 patients a nurse it is what it is. We so our best and work together, always trying to keep really critical kids on their own assignment, or with one non critical patient.

Sorry I just saw this thread and your post. This seems very off, except for infants a kg or under. I've never seen a 2 kg infant with an NG at 29 or a 3 kg infant with an NP at 42.... I would relook at this calculation...

I am not a travel nurse, but from talking with other NICU nurses that travel the consensus seems to be travel nurses mostly get feeders and growers, very rarely critical infants.

I would contact level III and level IV NICUs in areas you are interested in and ask if they hire new grads. I would also ask if they have a nurse residency program. I was hired as a new grad and I felt it was beneficial having a well put together new grad orientation and residency program to complete. From my experience, the NICUs I am familiar with prefer to either hire nurses from the hospital (from a different floor with good recommendations) or new grads. Hiring new grads allows them to mold you and teach you without you having set in stone ways of doing things. Good luck!