Starting as a new grad in the NICU... less than two months to take NCLEX! AHH

[Mindylane]

Hi everyone,

I was just offered a job in the area's biggest and best Level IV NICU. They generally have 80-100 babies at a time. I am wondering if starting in such a specialty puts me at a disadvantage for later, if I ever may decide to switch to something else (although I wanted NICU as my first choice and cannot be happier to have a job on the unit I wanted to be on!)... what do you guys think?

Also, I graduate in ten days, and the residency starts on July 7. That's TIGHT for taking the NCLEX. Is this even doable, do you think? I have had great grades, consistently scoring low 60s-70s on Kaplan tests (just got a 70% on a trainer this afternoon) and I THINK I can pass it, but I also get major test anxiety, haha.

Anyway, just a new grad looking for some guidance. Thank you so much!

[zeus&lincoln]

I did it...You can too! 1-1.5 months is plenty of time to study for boards if you apply yourself, were a good student and have a good base of knowledge. I am working in a large NICU as a new grad. I would definitely say to ensure you want to go into this specialty because many of the skills are not a applicable to other units. You can always retrain...that is what nurses do. But, to avoid having to do that, I would say to be pretty sure you are going to like it in NICU. It is definitely not all about cuddling babies which I know you already know. You also have to deal with some crazy hormonal or just plain crazy parents. I absolutely love it and would not change my speciality but I've know NICU was my niche since my first hospital shift in nursing school. Good luck!

[krisiepoo]

I took the NCLEX 10 days after graduation and passed. You'll be fine