What should new grad know before going to NICU?

[SC_RNDude]

I have the opportunity to apply for a new grad position in a NICU. In nursing school, our experience in that unit consisted of walking though one for about 2 minutes.

I've been trying to find out as much as I can about being a NICU nurse, but would appreciate any words of wisdom the NICU nurses have for me. What kind of things should I consider before applying for a NICU position? Is the NICU so specialized that it would be difficult to do something else later?

Thanks!

[llg, PhD, RN]

Yes. It is so specialized that switching to something else later is particularly difficult. You should give that serious consideration.

Depending on the level of NICU, it can be VERY intensive care. Some people are surprised to learn that some of the sickest, least stable patients in the hospital are in the NICU ... or that in some hospitals, the highest death rate is in the NICU. If you are not prepared to deal with high intensity, then the NICU is not the place for you.

But some of us love NICU and can't imagine working in any other type of clinical environment. We love the babies, are fascinated by the little creatures, and feel a committment to care for them that drives us to work in the NICU.

I spent 16 years working in NICU's before moving on to hospital wide staff development, research, and evidence-based practice. 14 of those years included working with new NICU orientees. I truly believe that people are either NICU nurses or they are not. Check it out, interview, ask for a detailed tour or a shadowing experience if you can get it. See how you feel about it when you are with the babies. Go with what you gut tells you based on how you feel in the company of the babies.

[NICU_babyRN, BSN, RN]

The above post says it all. NICU is truly intense if you are at the right place (like level 3 + surgery). At my hospital, the NICU is the largest unit and we bring in the most money. That speaks to the acuity level. It's very very high. I am often singled with just one baby and sometimes we have 2:1. As in...2 nurse:1 baby!