Torn about applying for NICU

[annRN27]

Hi nurses!

I'm gonna keep this short as possible. I've worked adult med-surg/ortho for 3 years and adult bedside nursing is not for me. I now work on a peds ortho/rehab/neuro unit and I'm starting to have to same feeling of dread that I used to get before working with the adults. Just the everyday stress of working in the hospital as a bedside nurse is really burning me out. I feel like I need days to recover after working 1 or 2 12 hours shifts. I always thought I would love peds so much so I'm surprised and disappointed that it's turning out to not be that way. It's not the patients, I do love the kids, it's just all the other BS that comes with working as a nurse at the bedside. I'm very much over it. I haven't been in this new position for too long either but I already know, I don't want to stay much longer. Also rotating between night and day shift is for the birds.

I'm looking into new opportunities and I've always wanted to do nicu. I have experience with stable nicu babies at my current job and I do really enjoy taking care of the babies, they're always my favorite patients. Not so crazy about the parents sometimes because they can be downright nasty and insulting. I don't want another job that is just running around like a chicken with my head cut off all day everyday so I want to ask you nicu nurses what do you love about your job? What do you dislike? Does it compare to bedside nursing bc if so maybe it's not for me. I feel at a crossroads right now trying to decide where I should go from here. Should I give up the hospital setting for good or give nicu a shot? I know that if I do leave the hospital setting, I may not get the opportunity to try nicu nursing ever again bc it is so competitive.

[RegularNurse]

I have worked with hundreds of nurses in my career.

You are an experienced nurse. You know that this is staff nursing. Nothing makes it better. In many aspects, it has never been a better time to be a staff nurse. Great money etc.

I have friends who work at nationally renowned peds hospitals and despise it. If you want a low stress job, you will have to leave the bedside. End of Story.

[preemiepoweredRN]

Although I've never done adult nursing, I can say just from my conversations with nurse friends who work with adults and children that bedside nursing is pretty much the same across the board..It's demanding. period.

It totally makes a difference depending on acuity of your patients, staffing of the unit, the ability of your co-workers to work as a team, the leadership of the unit, the collaboration of other disciplines etc etc...Speaking from a NICU perspective, it's definitely not just sitting and rocking babies all day (which is still believed by some circles*smiles*) and you definitely have to embrace the families of those babies, because although they may not be likeable at times (considering that they are going through one of the biggest crises of their lives-having their "healthy baby" born so sick to require intensive care) they are the ones taking that beautiful baby home at the end of the NICU stay, so it benefits you to work with them.

I absolutely love working in the NICU and definitely believe it's incredibly challenging at times, but also very rewarding especially with the continuity of care provided- however it is not for every nurse. I think it would be wise to just stop and consider really what makes you want to change positions before changing to the NICU. It sounds like you are feeling burnout from the length of the shifts and the day/night rotation, not necessarily from the patients? Is it possible to work less often or space your days apart so that you can rest?

[annRN27]

The unit I work on requires rotating shifts and we have set weekends. This makes it difficult for me sometimes to make my schedule trying to fit in my days and nights and still allowing adequate time off to recover. I don't do well flipping from days one week to nights the next. I think that's a major contributor to the way that I'm feeling but also I just don't enjoy working the bedside. I thought changing units and specialties would be all the difference but it's really just the same crap, different place. I get very stressed and have bad anxiety at times. I feel claustrophobic knowing I'm going to be stuck at work for the next 12+ hours. I find it very hard to get into a routine on my days off. I think that you're both right. I'm definitely feeling burnt out from the bedside and shift work and that's not going to get better if I continue to work in a hospital setting. I'm going to start looking into non-hospital jobs. Maybe same day surgery centers. I think I would do well working a set schedule every week and also no weekends or holidays would be a huge bonus.