I finally had my NICU rotation and I've fallen in love with those babies. I spent all day taking care of four sweet babies. Two boys and two girls. Two with tube feedings, one in an incubator. I just loved how mellow things were. Yes... things got busy if any alarms would go off, but it was so nice to not be running around from room to room trying to get my meds in on time. I was on the side with the growers and feeders. My nurse was kind enough to take me to the other hall where the sicker babies were. I saw all the tubes and ventilators and the super tiny babies. While I thought it would break my heart too much and I wouldn't be able to do it, I was wrong. It didn't break my heart, instead my heart was filled with so much love for these precious little babies that were so sick.
I still wonder if NICU will be too much for me to handle emotionally. I told my professor that I got the honeymoon side of the NICU since all my babies were pretty stable. I didn't take care of any dying babies. I still worry that a dying innocent baby may break my heart too much. I'm hoping to know for sure soon. I start applying for internships in January. The NICU of the hospital I did clinicals at really want me to apply to their internship. It's an amazing level 3 NICU, the nurses and managers were wonderful. Their internship is 6 months long after graduation. So I'm confident that they'll prepare me enough to take care of these preemies. However... part of me wants to do that year of med-surg. NICU was only for a day and while I loved it, I don't feel like I spent enough time there to really know I can do it. I have spent 2 semesters in med-surg and I know I can do it. Unlike my peers I enjoy med-surg. Oh the decisions!
Monday, September 8, 2008
I love the NICU
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2 comments:
Do you know what you have to do to work in the NICU?
I really want to work there.
But I'm not sure what kind of things I need to do to prepare.
Or even what level of schooling I need.
Molly!
Goodness. I'm so sorry I missed your comment. I haven't been around here much.
You can work in the NICU as a volunteer if you'd like. Many hospitals have people come in and just interact with the babies, hold them, help feed them.
In order to work in the NICU you would need at least an associates degree in nursing. An RN degree. After graduation you would apply for an internships (paid) with whatever hospital you are interested in. NICU internships are competitive and you can expect to start working on nights on any nursing specialty until you have some experience. So get good grades in school and get your resume in early.
There aren't any tech positions in the NICU, and most hospitals are no longer hiring LVN's. You can also work in NICU as a social worker, Nutritionist, case manager, occupational therapist. But all of these required a Bachelors or Masters.
Hope that helped!!!
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