Why NICU

The high tech ICU environment without the adult body in the bed.

None of my female co-workers have asked for my help moving a patient.

If I have to clean up poop, I'd rather clean a preemie's diaper than a 300 pound adult's diaper.

My patients never ask to go outside for a smoke break.

Why am I in the NICU? Because I love babies. They are totally the best :) (I'm being serious too)

Babies :) I've worked with adults in many many specialties. My back will thank me by making this switch.

I started in NICU as a new grad and I don't think I'll ever go back to adults. In addition to working with micro-preemies (we've had about 6 22 and 23 weekers in the past 6 months, plus many 24 weeks and up), we go to high risk deliveries when bringing up the babies, go on transport (helicopter and ambulance) to transfer babies to our unit, have surgeries at the bedside, and other things I never imagined before I started my job. A lot of my friends claimed NICU was "easy" because they're just babies but there is a lot of critical thinking and assessment skills needed. It is still an ICU environment. Another reason why I love NICU is that some of our babies are with us for months, we get to know the babies and their families. The level III unit I work at is nice because of the variety of patients. Taking care of sick babies with high vent settings is good for my critical care nursing skills, however it's always nice to have a break with some of our feeder-growers helping them bottle feed and get ready to transition home with their families.