The profession of pediatric NICU nurse?

I really wanna be a pediatric NICU nurse , when i go into my career, does anyone know any information on that, or any websites i can go to for information on this, and other medical professions , thanX

First of all you've got to get through nursing school and graduate and take the RN exam to be certified to work. Then you get a job at a hospital that has a pediatric ward with a pediatric intensive care unit and a NICU. Pediatric means your patients are babies through teenagers. NICU is neonatal intensive care unit which are newborn babies who need extra medical attention. As a new graduate you won't get to work in the NICU you have to get experience either on the pediatric floor or sometimes maternity will take new grads. It usually takes at least a year of floor care to get your skills up to where they feel comfortable to train you to work in NICU. I don't know any websites but check your local community college and see if they offer a degree in nursing. Their website may have info about the profession and any other medical profession they offer a degree in. Look up info about respiratory therapy, x-ray technologist, ultra sound tech, radiation therapist, or dental hygienist. Those should all be 2 year associate degree programs. RN usually takes 3 years at a community college or 4 years at a 4 year school to get a bachelor of nursing.

What the first poster said about getting your RN licensure is correct. You must become a nurse, gain experience, and then be accepted into a training program at a hospital.

NICU nurses must be on the top of their game at all times. They need to be able to acurately critically think under pressure. These patients are very fragile and die quite easily. As wonderful as it is to work with little babies, you should also understand that many just don't make it. It can be quite a sad place to work at times. You should consider that before choosing it as a career. I am not trying to discourage you, as I also work in pediatrics with very sick children, I just want you to make an informed decision. If you are okay with witnessing death and dying on a regular basis, then you may be fine with this job.

This is a typical job listing for Neonatal ICU nurse..............

Completing initial assessment of patients, including psychosocial, environmental and physiological, self-care, education, continuing care, and discharge planning factors

Initiating and implementing a written nursing care plan, individualized to the needs of the each patient
Assessing patient/family education needs and planning and providing the necessary teaching

Participating in developing the discharge plan with the patient/family, physician, social worker, and other staff members
Collaborating with other health care team members to coordinate medical and nursing management of patient care

Contributing to the achievement of organization and department goals through effective participation as a team member on an ongoing basis





Get busy and get that nursing degree... you will have so many choices of what to do that it will stagger you. Best of luck! :o)