Roll call: Tell us a little about you

JennyRN2B · Jul 9, 2005

My story goes like this...

I am a 33 year old, happily married, mom of three. All of my kidos are in school this year. Wa Hoo for no more preschool $$$. I am in my last year of nursing school. It has been three years of hard work.

My Fall semester is Med surg and Psych nursing. I have completed my Ob/Peds rotation. I am hoping to do my preceptorship in the NICU in Jan. I had two days of shadowing last semester in the NICU and fell in love. When I entered school I had thoughts that the NICU would be for me. The shadowing experience sealed it.

I guess this time next year I will need to change my log in name. I never dreamed I would still be posting some four years later... :rolleyes:

Glad to meet you all!

pedrn, RN · Jul 10, 2005

I am 27 years old. I am married with one child who turned one on July 7.

I have worked in the NICU for about two weeks and love it. Before I worked in peds for 6 years. I still have so much to learn. Well gotta run Hurricane Dennis is fast approaching!!!

Kalico · Jul 10, 2005

I am 23 years old and have wanted to be a NICU nurse ever since I was 7. My daughter starts kindergarten this year and I am in my last year of nursing school. I just found out that I passed my boards and am officially an LPN!! I am hoping to preceptor in the NICU that I currently volunteer in but that won't be until the spring of 2006. By that time I really hope to already have a job and know where I will be going after school. I have definitely learned a lot from all you experienced NICU nurses out there and hope to continue learning from you as my career takes off in the right direction.

LilPeanut, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 12, 2005

Hi!

I officially start nursing school this fall in a direct entry program (my original degree is in Spanish and international studies)

I decided to become a nurse because I want to work in the NICU. Right now I work as a unit coord in my children's ER but as soon as I finish my first round of clinicals this fall, I can go other places as either a student nurse assistant or PCA

fergus51 · Jul 12, 2005

I'm an OB nurse turned NICU nurse. I have been in the NICU for almost 3 years and mostly enjoy it. I work in a large unit in California. I've never worked in a unit with less than 50 beds.

I have seriously been considering going back to L&D in the last couple of months for a variety of reasons..... I just can't decide where I belong some days.

unc005 · Jul 12, 2005

hey everyone,

is there anyone from nc here? more specifically, anyone in the triad region? lastly, anyone work at unc hospitals? lol...ok, i got all my questions out...whew!

erin---love them heels! ;-p

p.s. i had originally always planned on going into *some* kind of health-care field(actually, i always had the aspirations to become a physician, but when i realized at the age of 8 or 9 that i'd *always* struggle with math, i knew i'd better get realistic and "switch gears"; i still held out hope though through my sophompre/junior year of h.s. though;-)), and never planned on nursing, though. level iii nicu is where i wanted to ultimately wind up (first as a staff rn and then as a nnp), and first work as moore regional hospital in pinehurst (nc, of course)---home of the 2005 u.s. open, and then at unc hospitals in their nicu; both hospitals is where *i* was treated as a 30 wker in 1982. however, i decided to switch specialties (neuroscience nursing---still hoping to pursue my msn, i guess, probably adult np...what do y'all think?---would that be "most appropriate", you think, for a neurology/neurosurgery floor? (and possibly nsicu on down the road, *if* i decide to do that at *some* point))---when i had to have two neurosurgeries (in april and may---with actually, *three* different procedures, but still under just those two neurosurgeries) which are r/t my prematurity (grade iii ivh). i had some of the "common" premie problems, as well as the ivh. however, compared to most premies, i had a fairly uneventful nicu experience [i.e. no rop, bpd, rds, etc.---just the ivh, was on room air on day 2 of life, did have to have exchange transfusions due to numerous "bld. lettings" (those are from my medical medical recods...lol), seizures during my first 2 wks. of life, jaundice due to hyperbilirubemia, etc.]. i was actually born at another small community hospital (adjacent county over from where i was raised), transferred to mrh the same day and spent 5 wks. there, and then transferred to unc where i spent about a month there once i was stable enough (initially, while at mrh, i wasn't expected to live and my parents actually were told, *and* planned, to plan my funeral) to be transferred. i was transferred there from a "neurosurgical standpoint" and from that point onward until the age of seven, i wound up having ten neurosurgeries and was followed up with the sicc for as long as necessary (age-wise), as well as with the opthalmology clinic. i managed to stay away from unc for so very close to fifteen years (*eight* weeks and *two* days shy of *fifteen* years, to be exact) before my now, non-fucntioning shunt started giving me problems; but it had most likely been malfunctioning slowly for a number of years from what my neurosurgeon says. it was just a matter of time...*sigh* so in addition to *that* shunt, i also have a functional one that back in may had caused everyone to wonder if maybe it had malfunctioned too...but all is well with it so far...i just have migraines in addition to the hydrocephalus/shunts, etc. guess that's it...lol. oh, and i'm an adn student going *back* into my school's program for this fall (audited last fall due to personal/financial reasons and got back in for this fall). good luck to all who are hoping to do nicu nursing, are already nicu rns pursuing bsns, msns, etc.! may we *all* get where we are going (and *what* we want---out of life;-)!)! sorry this is *so* looong!

ANICURN · Jul 13, 2005

Greetings! I have been a level III NICU nurse here in Northwest Arkansas for 2 1/2 years, a former L&D nurse, questioning returning to L&D. I am also contemplating travel nursing. A little nervous about going to the "big" hospitals, no, alot nervous......

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Jul 13, 2005

ok here I go:

I am happily married, 23 y/o have a dog (Melody-toy poodle), a cat (Kiro-DSH), a hamster (Lily-Russian Dwarf), an aquarium full of fish (Molly-had babies 3 weeks ago 22 of them so the family is growing :chuckle ), and a hermit crab (Chuy).

I have no children yet (waiting till I finish school), work 2 part-time jobs (40+ hours), help my husband with his job, volunteer at the local humane society, and on the top of the list a prenursing student (will begin clinicals in January hopefully)

Let see.... :rolleyes:

Oh, I have lost over 140 lbs, eating healthy and ocassionally excersizing, and basically other than that I have no life other than books and spending some time here :rotfl:

Gompers, BSN, RN · Jul 13, 2005

I decided to be a NICU nurse when I was 16 years old after reading a chapter of "Born Too Soon" (great non-fiction book by Elizabeth Mehren) in my grandmother's Reader's Digest. I went straight from high school into a BSN program. In the 7 years since graduation, I've worked in a large level III NICU. No plans for graduate school at this point, because I really don't want to leave the bedside. I love being a NICU nurse and really can't imagine doing anything else in the healthcare field besides this.

At the moment, my job is the most steady thing in my life. The rest of it is all caught up in planning my wedding, decorating my new home, learning to cook, losing weight, and of course...HARRY POTTER MANIA!!!!

:chuckle

Greenivy1 · Jul 14, 2005

Hi everyone,

I'm originally from Puget Sound and am currently landlocked here in beautiful Colorado! I am a 2nd degree BSN student at UNC and love school. I'm in my first semester and am gearing up to start my first clinical experience in one week. I have two kids, 3 and 5, both were a little early but not micro's. One at 33 and one at 35 weeks. My 35 weeker was the weaker one and a girl too, which goes against the grain, from what I've been told. (I recall a member who's byline states: "it bears repeating, never trust a 35 weeker...)She had RDS but no other complications and came home on O2 after a few weeks at Children's in Denver (darn this altitude!). I'm interested in NICU but sometimes feel my experience with it is detrimental because it's so intensely personal. So I'm considering L&D first. Still, I feel a real pull to NICU.

My Sunshine · Jul 16, 2005

I haven't posted alot (lack of time due to school!!), but I do read the boards quite a bit...I am 34 with 2 beautiful children, work part-time in a level III NICU (11 years), and a full-time NNP student!! Busy busy!!!