Questions re: NICU CNA

[manytinymomma]

Hey Ladies- I've lurked for a bit and now have some questions!

My bachelor's is in Speech Pathology, but the field was too low-key for me, so I chose not to go on to graduate school and instead stayed at home and started a family.

Upon dealing with secondary infertility, I began fostering preemies directly discarged from the NICU. I loved it SO much! I've done PICC lines, oxygen, suction, g-tube/NG/TPT feeds, pulse ox and apnea monitors, plus all the developmental fun I learned in college to augment their therapies. We ended up adopting two of those sweeties, and now we are done (at least for a while)! But, I miss the intensity of little special needs babies! So I have considered going back to school for my RN, at least so I can travel with my hubby on more mission trips and medical support.

Anyways, a coveted NICU CNA job opened up at one of our local hospitals and I got it! I'm so excited to start in a few weeks.

I know that I will be allowed to do feeds and baths on feeders/growers plus lots of clerical support, vitals, and stocking.

So, here's my questions:

1. What are pro's and con's to CNA's in the NICU, and do you have pearls of wisdom for me as I start out?

2. Is it a bad idea post-graduation to seek only part-time employment? My kids are all under age 6 and I want to be very present in their lives while still having my own life, you know?

Thanks!

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

I wish we had CNA's on our unit! We used to until they decided that it should be all RN You'll get an orientation, or at least you should. We gave ours a 4 week orientation where she was paired with an RN and then put with the unit secretary.

Most of the hospitals in my region are now only hiring in at 32 hours weekly. We rarely, if ever have a part time position. You might have to take whatever they have and then see about cutting hours. Where I work, once a year they put up a "wish" list for people to cut hours or go up if they are already part time. We now don't let people increase over 32 weekly ( the whole hospital).

Good luck!

[rockabye]

Congrats on your NICU job! I also think that it was wonderful of you to foster special needs NICU graduate preemies.

My hospital once had CNAs, but due to budget cuts they have since phased them out too so now we only have RNs in the NICU. They used to only work in the lower risk level 2 NICU and would assist the RNs with vitals, changing diapers, and bottle-feeding. I love NICU so I am not really sure what you mean by the cons lol. I guess the only pearls of wisdom to offer is to be pro-active and don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions, especially if you are unfamiliar with something or a baby isn't looking, acting right, etc. I know when we had CNAs, the RNs really appreciated their help.

As far as seeking part-time employment goes, I would usually advise against it in the beginning when you are trying to get hired. The reason is because a hospital may prefer training someone who is going to be putting in more hours and sometimes orientations cater to full-time new grads which can take up to 6 months. However in your case and with your potential experience, you may be able to have an easier time starting off part-time, especially if you get hired to the same hospital. Nursing school is tough and I put way more time into studying and clinicals and attending classes than I have done even working overtime. You can always ask your employer after orientation to be moved to part-time. I have generally found that the bigger the NICU units, the more flexible the staffing.