/What are managers looking for???

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Specializes in ER.

These questions are for anyone working in any of these units (L&D; Mother/Baby; NICU); especially managers. ....

I'm a nursing student, and I'm one week away from the end of my externship in mother/baby. I'm very interested in these three units, and some of the nurses on my unit suggested I go into Med/Surg first.....for more experience....but I want to hear what you guys think.....

How prepared would I be for L&D or NICU after working in MB?

What kind of experience do managers in MB, LD, and NICU prefer?

Do you agree that med/surg would set a good foundation for any of these??

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Specializes in NICU.

Working in mother/baby is definitely a good place to be before you go to a NICU. You get to learn what a healthy, normal infant looks like. Once you know what is "normal" it can become easier to know when something's not quite right.

As far as starting out in med/surg before doing NICU - I would not recommend it. Preemies are a whole different ball game compared to adults. While you would probably get a chance to fine tune your time management skills (and other things like that), you would have a lot of "unlearning" when you would get to a NICU.

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Specializes in NICU.

As far as experience, that would vary with the unit. A lot of units (including mine) have great orientations geared toward the new grad. In that case, the fact that you had worked MB would be a plus and more than they would require.

Sweeper's right; knowing what a "normal" baby looks like is a great foundation for NICU. And I second not working M/S if you want to end up with babies; they're completely different types of units.

Good luck and if you choose NICU, we'll see you lots on this thread :).

As far as what managers want, I'm guessing an enthusiasm for the unit and a willingness to learn. The rest will come with time.

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