There is no reason you can't start in the NICU right away. Many NICU nurses began their careers that way, and if you believe that is your passion, then go for it.

NICU nurse fresh out of school...
I started in the NICU fresh out of nursing school. I feel I had a slight advantage though, because my nursing school offered internship and I was able to do it in the NICU. The internship gave the dept a way to almost guarentee a GN once out of school. Most who did their internships in a specialized area were interested in working there once out of school. As was in my case. I was interested in the NICU and was pleased when I found out that I could intern in that dept. It was a great way to get my foot in the door and get a headstart in my dept of choice. I have now been working in the NICU now more than a year out of school. I love working in the NICU, unfortunately, now in our dept we are having management issues and a lot of nurses are finding other jobs. I may be soon to follow if things don't change. The problem not only affects me, but also the patients, as well as possibly our licenses for unsafe assignments. Anyways, hope this was a booster for you. I say go for it. Be all that you can be in the NICU.

Many of the best critical care nurses are those who were trained in their specialty right out of school. You are a "sponge" ready to soak up knowledge. I went straight to ER and despite the naysayers who thought I needed to "pay my dues" on med surg, I believe I have become quite competent in this specialty area. Best of luck to you.[/u]

NICU nursing
As a nurse that started NICU straight out of nursing school, I say go for it. If I would have gone into med/surg nursing first I would have probably hated my job. I knew in school that I wanted to do peds or NICU after graduation with only have three weeks in peds and one day in the NICU. I have been working in a level 3 NICU for about a year and a half and absolutely love it. If you are considering NICU, I would definitely try to get a job in a level 3 (highest acuity). Level 2 NICUs transfer out their sicker kids to other hospitals. I've learned so much on my unit and continue to do so. Good luck!

I agree with the others, there really is no reason why you can't start out as a NICU nurse....don't necessarily buy into the whole "1 yr Med/Surg" theory. GO FOR IT !!

Re: NICU just out of school?



Did you go to a vocational college? I am having a hard time deciding which college to go to.