somebody help please

picurn10 · Sep 20, 2010

It does vary a bit depending on your region of the country. For example in my area, you can do postpartum/nursery as an LPN, but only RN's can do neonatal ICU (which is either a 2 or 4yr program).

There is no specific title that goes along with it. You go to nursing school, take boards, and then you can apply for any job you want. Some jobs are harder to get as a new grad, but not always. After you've been working as an RN for awhile, you can take additional certification exams. For example you can become a certified pediatric nurse. It shows employers that you have proven knowledge in a certain area, and in some cases you can perform additional skills, but its not needed to get your foot in the door.

I first got my LPN (a 11mo program) and started out at a small pediatric hospital, from there I went straight into an RN program (two semesters) and just got hired to work in the pediatric ICU.

There are a lot of good books at the library that can help you learn about nursing. I wanted to be a nurse since I was in elementary school and that is the way I learned about what each specialty does, the education needed, and so on.

Good luck to you!

LiveZen · Sep 22, 2010

While you're in prenursing, take advantage of the more flexible class schedule you have now and get into the hospital to learn. Volunteer at a hospital in your areas of interest. NICUs sometimes having waiting lists of people who want to "rock babies" but you can go ahead and get in line. Be around the babies and the nurses and see if this is an environment that works for you. You'll see some success stories and some tough stuff, and this can help you figure out if this is the right spot for you.

I love babies and kids and found my niche in peds (not NICU) through trial and error (a summer externship in peds hem/onc after volunteering there for a couple of years, a year working peds ER, and now peds inpatient care at a specialty-only hospital). Each of those experiences taught me a lot about what kind of nurse I want to be. You never really know unless you've been there firsthand. You might fall in love with another specialty or know for sure that NICU is "your thing".

Best wishes as you start your journey!

Lovely2u22 · Oct 1, 2010

If you are interested in working in a newborn nursery then you need to look for positions within the Mother/Baby department of a hospital. Usually nurses that take care of newborns in the nursery are able to also float to the ante/post-partum department. My hospital does not specifically hire nureses for the nursery.

pedsnurse72 · Oct 5, 2010

Sounds like my advice is similar to the others. I have a daughter now who is going to college in a year and a half and wants to be a NICU nurse. Here is my advice to her because it DID help me. Get your CNA (some schools require it anyway). Get a job as a CNA in the hospital or department you want to be a nurse at. Work as much as your schedule will allow. Pick those nurse's brains! That's what I did! Many of them are very willing to teach you things while you are working as a nursing assistant. Even if you have to work as a CNA in a dept you don't want, it's STILL your foot in the door. I got my CNA and started working in my dept now I work in and remembered throughout those 3 years of doing it that I wanted to make an impression, work hard, and when the time came for graduation they wouldn't want to let me go. That's what happened. So yes, get a job NOW. Getting your foot in the door before you are ever a nurse is a huge step.