They don’t tell you

[Seriously?!, ADN, LPN, RN]

When you first become a nicu nurse, they don’t tell you your life is forever changed.

They don’t tell you that you will literally hold a life in the palm of your hand.

They don’t tell you that you should make sure your vision is checked regularly because you will be looking at some of the tiniest numbers ever printed.

They don’t tell you that you wear gloves so often, it feels weird changing your own baby with bare hands.

They don’t tell you that you will sometimes get to see a persons very first breath and their very last breath in the same day.

They don’t tell you that no matter how much you study, you will never know enough.

They don’t tell you that you will become a translator from doctor language to parent language.

They don’t tell you that you will help someone through drug withdrawal that doesn’t even understand what is happening.

They don’t tell you that doing everything you can is sometimes still not enough.

They don’t tell you that your dreams will be filled with horror after a rough night.

They don’t tell you that everything you learned in nursing school doesn’t apply to this patient population.

They don’t tell you that every word you say and every act you do means something.

They don’t tell you that the respiratory therapists are the true heroes of the nicu.

They don’t tell you that you will look at the clock when you are home and notice that it’s on the hour.

They don’t tell you that you will think about your patients all the time.

They don’t tell you that there will be things you can’t unsee.

They don’t tell you that you will feel a huge sense of accomplishment on discharge day.

They don’t tell you that sometimes you still worry about your patients after discharge.

They don’t tell you that you will hear so many alarms, and know what each one means just by one tone. You are not allowed to get used to them. Ever. You hear them even when you’re trying to go to sleep.

They don’t tell you that you will measure things in grams, Celsius, and centimeters.

They don’t tell you that your coworkers will become like family.

They don’t tell you that you have the responsibility of someone’s entire world resting on your shoulders.

They don’t tell you that there’s a such thing as nanopreemie diapers, 1 inch blood pressure cuffs, isolettes with rainforests inside them, and actual living humans weighing less than a pound.

They don’t tell you that you will notice tiny subtle differences that no one else may pick up on.

They don’t tell you that you will stand in awe of a patient, so blown away by this miracle that it takes your breath away.

They don’t tell you that you will feel so incredibly honored to be able to do this every day.

They don’t tell you that sometimes you leave work so drained, you have nothing left for your family waiting at home.

They don’t tell you that you will hold yourself to the highest of standards, never accepting anything less than 100%.

They don’t tell you that burping a baby makes the monitor alarm that the baby is in v-fib.

They don’t tell you that not all babies in nicu are preemies.

They don’t tell you that you will sit at a bedside for 12+ hours, praying and willing with everything inside of you that your patient will make it through the night.

They don’t tell you that you will be keeping your eyes on SO many numbers. Vitals, labs, medication dosages. Constantly watching. Observing. Making subtle changes.

They don’t tell you that sometimes you overthink things. Sometimes it is what it is, not what you want it to be. And you will struggle.

They don’t tell you that you get to teach. Gently, carefully guiding parents on how to care for this fragile life. That one day, you will be the more experienced nurse and you get to show the new nicu nurse (who has been told none of these things) that he or she will make it.

Inch stones are celebrated. Miracles are happening. They don’t tell you that you really get to be a part of this. And what an awesome life it is, how blessed we are to be nicu nurses.

#nicustrong #nicunurse #nicumom

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

On 5/6/2019 at 10:06 PM, Seriously?! said:

They don’t tell you that you will literally hold a life in the palm of your hand.

They don’t tell you that no matter how much you study, you will never know enough.

They don’t tell you that you will become a translator from doctor language to parent language.

They don’t tell you that you will help someone through drug withdrawal that doesn’t even understand what is happening.

They don’t tell you that doing everything you can is sometimes still not enough.

They don’t tell you that everything you learned in nursing school doesn’t apply to this patient population.

They don’t tell you that the respiratory therapists are the true heroes of the nicu.

They don’t tell you that you will measure things in grams, Celsius, and centimeters.

They don’t tell you that there’s a such thing as nanopreemie diapers, 1 inch blood pressure cuffs, isolettes with rainforests inside them, and actual living humans weighing less than a pound.

They don’t tell you that you will feel so incredibly honored to be able to do this every day.

They don’t tell you that burping a baby makes the monitor alarm that the baby is in v-fib.

They don’t tell you that not all babies in nicu are preemies.

They don’t tell you that you will be keeping your eyes on SO many numbers. Vitals, labs, medication dosages. Constantly watching. Observing. Making subtle changes.

They don’t tell you that you get to teach. Gently, carefully guiding parents on how to care for this fragile life. That one day, you will be the more experienced nurse and you get to show the new nicu nurse (who has been told none of these things) that he or she will make it.

Inch stones are celebrated. Miracles are happening. They don’t tell you that you really get to be a part of this. And what an awesome life it is, how blessed we are to be nicu nurses.

#nicustrong #nicunurse #nicumom

^^These are my favorites. You might want to add:

They don't tell you that pound for pound, the 24 weeker is the physically strongest baby in the NICU.

[Seriously?!, ADN, LPN, RN]

Yes, I love that!! It is so true! ❤️

[Nurse Magnolia, BSN, RN]

Thank you for posting this. I start my first job in a level III NICU in June. I just graduated from school in April so this is my first nursing job, but I do have 4 kids so I'm not brand new to babies.

I am so excited for this opportunity, still, I worry that nothing I learned in nursing school applies to this population. I know I have so much to learn and I am humbled to be a part of this tribe of nurses.

[NICUnLDRN]

On 5/25/2019 at 3:13 PM, Nurse Magnolia said:

Thank you for posting this. I start my first job in a level III NICU in June. I just graduated from school in April so this is my first nursing job, but I do have 4 kids so I'm not brand new to babies.

I am so excited for this opportunity, still, I worry that nothing I learned in nursing school applies to this population. I know I have so much to learn and I am humbled to be a part of this tribe of nurses.

If you don't mind me asking what hospital hired you as a new grad into the NICU? I've been searching and only come across different jobs that want experience in the NICU. I know its possible but im just not having any luck.

[Nurse Magnolia, BSN, RN]

8 hours ago, RNJhane said:

If you don't mind me asking what hospital hired you as a new grad into the NICU? I've been searching and only come across different jobs that want experience in the NICU. I know its possible but im just not having any luck.

I live in Pittsburgh. I really lucked out because one of the NICU's in the area announced they were closing about 2 weeks after I was offered the job at a different NICU. After that, all of the NICU's stopped hiring new grads because they were absorbing all of the RN's from the level III NICU that was closing. At this point though, I think that process is complete. All of the NICU's in the area will hire new grads. You likely need a BSN to get into the level IV NICU at Children's hospital, but they also hire new grads. There are several level III's in the area and a few level II's that hire new grads.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

On 5/25/2019 at 3:13 PM, Nurse Magnolia said:

Thank you for posting this. I start my first job in a level III NICU in June. I just graduated from school in April so this is my first nursing job, but I do have 4 kids so I'm not brand new to babies.

I am so excited for this opportunity, still, I worry that nothing I learned in nursing school applies to this population. I know I have so much to learn and I am humbled to be a part of this tribe of nurses.

Norton Children's Hospital Louisville, Ky.

There are usually several New Grad Residencies for NICU postings on Indeed.com around March/April and October/ Nov. around the time of most nursing school graduations.

I applied to Vanderbilt (Nashville) and Vidant (Greenville, NC) NICU Residencies after I graduated. But ended up getting hired at Norton Children's Level IV NICU.

[Hopeful_Future_RN_121]

I loved this. Thank you so much for posting. ?