questions

What is your full name? I won't give that out to anyone I don't know, I'm sorry!

What is your job title? staff nurse

What qualifications are needed for this job? current RN license, either an associate's or bachelor's degree in nursing

How many years of education is required? approximately 2-4 years of college

On average how much income can I expect? varies widely geographically - check http://www.salary.com for what nurses make in your area - staff RNs in the hospital make the same no matter what unit they work on

What courses in college are necessary? Schools that offer nursing degrees will already have all that set up for you. But basically...chemistry, anatomy & physiology, pharmacology, pathophysiology, microbiology, and then nursing classes in all different areas. If it's a bachelor's degree (rather than an associate's) you'll also have to take things like psychology, statistics, history, literature, philosophy, speech, etc.

Describe any outside responsibilities? What do you mean by this?

What are the approximate numbers of hours worked in a week? You can work whatever you want as a nurse. Full-time is recommended for new grads so they can get into the groove of things, so to speak. Most hospitals consider 36 hours (3 12-hour shifts) a week full-time, but traditionally full-time is 40 hours per week.

How much travel is involved with this job? None.

What are the additional opportunities in this career field? Charge nurse, nurse manager, neonatal nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, developmental specialist, lactation consultant, home care nurse, preceptor - the list goes on and on.

Does this job cover insurance, medical, retirement? If you work full-time, yes. If you work part time, you may have to pay extra to get medical insurance. Malpractice insurance is covered by the hospital as long as you are an employee. You have to contribute to your retirement plan and the hospital matches you for some of it, but overall hospitals are not known for having great retirement plans.

Why did you choose this career? I always wanted to be a nurse, and when I read about NICU nursing when I was a teenager, something clicked. I've never looked back. It's been about 14 years since that "click" and I'm still just as excited about NICU nursing as I was at that moment.

How can you earn more money? Agency nursing at other hospitals, working overtime, working off-shifts (evenings, nights, weekends, holidays), getting certified in your field, precepting or doing charge nursing, staying at the same hospital to build seniority, again, the list goes on and on.

Describe work environment. I work in a level III NICU - this means we take care of all but the very sickest babies that need to be on the heart-lung bypass machine. We do everything else. We have all kinds of babies in our care. Big, full-term babies there for observation or consultations. Tiny micropreemies fighting for their lives. Larger preemies "growing and feeding" until they are strong enough to go home. Babies with all kinds of congenital problems. Full-term babies that are sicker than dogs on all kinds of advanced life support systems and medications. You can come in one day and be caring for 3-4 growing preemies who you get to bathe, feed, and cuddle. The next you might have a 1-pound newly born preemie literally in your hands who is fighting for his or her life. Some days you might have 2 intermediate babies that need some respiratory and IV support, but who are doing pretty well. You might come in one day and be sending a baby to surgery and picking him or her up a few hours later, then have to do their surgical recovery. Another day you might have that big full-term baby with 10 IV pumps going and labs every hour, medically paralyzed so he or she doesn't fight against the ventilator as we try desperately to safe this baby's life. You never know what you're going to get. It really keeps you on your toes!

Do you like your job? Why? I absolutely love my job. I love caring for sick and tiny babies, helping them get better and go home. I love how high tech NICU is. I love the people I work with. I love the fact that I feel I'm really doing something great with my life. I love the fact that I never mind going to work, and that I miss it when I'm off for more than a few days. I think NICU nurses tend to be one of the most satisified groups of nurses out there.

Do you work independently or in a group? Both. You have your own patient assignment and that's your responsibility for your shift. However, in most units, when things start to go crazy (lots of admissions, babies getting sick, etc.) the nurses tend to really stick together and work well together as a team.

Where are the locations where you can get the job? Any hospital where there is a NICU. Basically, across the world! Rural areas usually don't have big NICUs, though. Larger cities often have multiple units and transport in babies from rural areas.

How many are open in this field? Do you mean how open is the field? Well, there is a nursing shortage going on everywhere right now. The only problem with NICU is that some units don't want to hire new grads so that might be an issue, though the majority of units welcoome new grads. The other issue is often that many NICU nurses stay at their jobs for a very long time, so turnover is very low. This is good in a way - tons of experienced nurses on staff - and bad in a way because there are sometimes never any job openings!

Is this job harmful? There is always the risk of back injuries, needlesticks, or illness when you work as a nurse. However, NICU is not as hard on one's body as other fields in nursing, and there is so much "safety" equiptment out there now that needlesticks are becoming more and more rare.

Is your job respected by your community? I think so.

How does your job affect your personal life? Well, I work nights, so that's not so great for my husband. But it's my choice - usually you have to start out on nights but can switch to days if you stay at the same place for a few years. I'm a night owl, though, so I'm not changing anytime soon! Also, having to work holidays can really suck sometimes. But someone has to do it, as the hospital never closes.

Do you do the job for the money or joy of doing it? The money is nice - have to make a living somehow - but I really think that I would still work at least one shift a week, even if I won $10 million dollars in the lottery. I feel honored to take care of these babies.

How has your job changed over the last few years? Newer and better medications and equiptment has improved the way we care for babies. Ventilation of preemies, especially, has vastly improved over the past 2-3 years. We have babies off the vent much earlier and are seeing less lung damage. In my own career, the age/weight of viability (at least at my hospital) has gone from 24 weeks/500 grams to 23 weeks/400 grams. That means that at those ages/weights the doctors will try to save a baby. We've had babies smaller than 400 grams survive, but not younger than 23 weeks.

How long have you been a neo-natal nurse? Almost 8 years.