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Discussion

Suggestions Please!

I'm looking for suggestions as I'm very conflicted on what to do. I have been an adult SICU/ MICU RN for the past 4 years and have been trying to get into NICU for a year now. I am looking to persue my NNP in the future and want to start my career on staff nicu now!!! I have been declined from recruiters many times stating they are looking for nicu experienced RNs. I finally obtained an interview last week and things went well, however the manager called me back and said that it came down to the other applicant had previous NICU experience. The recruiter called me a couple of hours later and said that they wanted to set up a second interview for the same education team and "shadow time" for a PICU position. I had never considered this, it has been NICU or nothing in my mind. So my questions being: What experience other than nicu can get me closer to a nicu position? Is it near impossible to get into a nicu? I'm in the Texas med center area so there are many. What other than NPR, STABLE AND PALS can I prepare myself with to look more marketable as a new nicu entry? Also the same unit has a internship in 6 months....should I wait and apply for that or consider the PICU position? Will the PICU position be experience NICU would consider?Thanks for any suggestions

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    I'm not a recruiter or a manager, so take this for what it's worth:

    1. Have you applied for NICU in the facility that you currently work? We have successfully transitioned nurses from adult ICU and from Med-Surg into our NICU. You may have better luck as an internal transfer than as a new hire.

    2. It's a tough market and many NICUs are requesting experienced NICU nurses only, as it is expensive train someone. Certainly you, as an experienced ICU nurse, will have better assessment and general nursing skills than a new grad, but you will require almost as much training as one.

    3. I don't THINK that PICU will get you any closer to the NICU - tho I could be wrong, particularly in this market. Perhaps they offered it because they thought it might be your second choice. I would be inclined to wait for the internship. You might just ask the recruiter if PICU experience could lead to a NICU job.

    4. NRP and STABLE are great!

    5. Rather than working with recruiters, you might contact nurse managers directly. Recruiters are gate-keepers who tend to work in absolutes. Carefully craft a letter describing your interest in NICU and present it, with your resume, to nurse managers of NICUs. If you call a hospital operator, they will usually give you the name, mail-stop, phone & email of the nurse manager of your choice. Rather than mailing or emailing your letter and resume, call the nurse manager and ask when you could have five minutes of her time to drop them off. Stand out!

    Good luck!

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