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Discussion

not sure if getting a BSN is for me

my dream is to become a nurse in the NICU and that is the only department I am interested in. I was told that through nursing school for a BSN I will have to participate in many things having nothing to do with neonatal. I really do not want to become a nurse for adults and I get uncomfortable in those situations. What should I do?

Also, if I did suffer through nursing school, how would I be sure to get a job in the NICU? should I find a different career aspiration? haha

I am a high school senior

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    • Experts

    Welcome to allnurses! :balloons:

    Any kind of nursing school (diploma, ADN, or BSN) will require you to "participate in many things having nothing to do with neonatal." The US educates and licenses (all) nurses as generalists; you will study and have clinical experiences in all areas of nursing in any nursing program in the US (in fact, many programs don't include any study of neonatal nursing, since that is a specialty v. few nurses ever go into). The majority of your nursing school experience will focus on adults. There isn't any way around that if you want to be an RN in the US. Of course, you have the option of specializing once you're through school and licensed.

    Also, there's no way to be sure you can get an NICU position fresh out of school -- many (not all) NICUs do not hire new graduates at all and are only interested in people with experience, although you can be confident you can eventually get a position if you're willing to relocate to wherever you can get a job.

    Many people, though, have had the experience of starting nursing school sure that they know what they want to specialize in and that's their only interest, only to find, after they've gone through all the different rotations in school, that they're more interested in something else entirely. It's a big world out there in nursing :), and most people are not even aware, until they've been in the field a while, what a wide variety of career possibilities and paths there are.

    But only you can decide if nursing is something you want to pursue (given that you will have to do other things in school besides working with neonates). Best wishes for your journey!

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    • Experts

    elpark is right. All nursing programs in the United States require that you get education (classroom and hands-on experience) with all types of patients. There is relatively little exposure to the NICU population in entry-level programs. You have to decide whether or not you are willing to do what it takes to become a nurse (of the general population) in order to have the privilege of working in a NICU someday.

    I was in a position similar to yours many years ago. I had no interest in ever working on an adult med/surg unit and yet I had to do so as part of my nursing education. It was something I had to "endure" in order to get that BSN. It wasn't pleasant for me, but I did it anyway. That kind of perseverance takes strength of will and character. Do you have what it takes to do things you don't want to do in order to get where you want to go later in life?

    Can you persevere in the face of difficulty, hard work, and dislike to get a chance to work in a NICU? If not, then perhaps nursing is not for you. If you decide you want to pursue nursing in spite of having to do some things you don't like, then I wish you the best of luck. Nursing (and NICU) needs strong people who want it badly enough that they are willing to make some sacrifices and work hard to get there.

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    I feel your pain. I want to work in the ER and I feel that most of the things I learn will have nothing to do with the ER. I don't want to work in a doctors office or just general things like that so I find that part of nursing school frustrating. But I do understand why they make us do it. This is a foundation for your career but that is not to say that you will have nothing else to learn once you graduate. I am looking forward to nursing school and trying to absorb as much as I can because I know it will make me a better nurse in the ER.

    Hope this helps

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    Remember, what you are learning in an RN program is giving you a good foundation on which to build upon and possibly use towards your specialty. The majority of patients in any hospital are older/elderly adults. As a student you have to learn how to be a generalist and care for the majority of the hospital/sick populations. That will be what your nursing board exams are based on.

    I am working as a tech on a med-surg floor and I hate so much of it but it is SUCH a great learning opportunity. Of course, as a student you have to take advantage of the situation and the opportunity to make it meaningful. I started in the NS there were a few areas that I said I'd never work in. I'm totally eating those words right now and I'm finding that I actually LOVE those areas of nursing.

    Nursing school is the basics for all nurses - you can't put an IV in a baby with veins smaller than the IV catheter most adults get if you can't put in a regular IV. Nursing school also teaches you so much about your interactions with your patients and your peers. I have learned SO much from my elderly patients and I don't mean just about history, but how to listen. And by listen i don't mean just what they say but also how they say it and what they don't say to you.

    I also agree with llg, NICU, ER and OR and a few other specialties take some real strong personalities and you will have to endure a lot and sacrifice a lot to get to those specialties.

    meredith

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    Out of 4 years of prerequisites and nursing program, maybe four weeks were spent talking about babies, and maybe a few days about neonates.

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    I think you're being a little unrealistic and maybe even a bit immature about going into nursing. There are no nursing schools that are only going to teach you in the area you pick to specialize in.

    If your dream is to be a CEO, you aren't going to be able to omit non-CEO related classes from your degree and get hired on directly as CEO right out of college.

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    I agree with the above posts...I think your first desire and dream is to become a nurse in general, without saying "I want to be a nurse, BUT....." and your second desire should be contingent upon a speciality. Your thoughts are equivalent to wanting to become a plumber that ONLY fixes running toilets, yet you don't want to work with sinks or bath tubs. Never heard of a specialist in running toilets....

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    I personally was uncomfortable with med/surge. But I learned as I went through school why I needed the background. Be open to the new experiences and your comfort level will increase.

    Look at the various clinicals as a means of developing a variety of skills. One of the reasons you have clinicals is to work with an instructor who can help you process your way through your anxieties.

    Best of luck.

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