Shadowing question

[AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

Hi all,

As many of you know I have been desperate to get into NICU nursing for several years with no luck since the job market in the northeast is terrible.

I was wondering you think a unit would let me shadow a NICU nurse for a few hours so I can kind of at least see what it's like, as I am at the point where I need to probably move on and look into a new area, but I also want to see if I "love" it so much that it's worth investing more time and emotional energy and the money to join NANN etc. I have been trying to get into an NRP class, but that has been like pulling teeth. To many candidates, not enough seats

I just want to know if it's something I truly like, or if I just think I would, and I won't.

Any input is appreciated.

Annie

[Simplistic]

Why dont you move to another area?

[emmjayy, BSN, RN]

I know this post is old, but I just want to say... there's no harm in asking around - and getting to shadow a nurse is a great experience. I'm a student, and I got a chance to shadow a NICU nurse today as part of my course. I absolutely loved it. The nurse let me perform assessments on her less critical infants (didn't want to stress out the more critical ones by having them undergo a second set of assessments) and it was so interesting! It was fast-paced and definitely piqued my interest in the field (although I've always been interested in L&D). I also got to do things like check placement of a preemie's NG tube and sooth a drug baby. I know this was just a tiny little taste of what NICU nursing involves but it was enough for me to become very interested by it. I think getting to have an experience like this would really help you make your decision.