I love being a NICU nurse. I have a true passion for the neonatal patient population & helping families through the hardest time in their lives. (and sometimes babies with NO parents at all). From the adrenaline rush, procedures, attention to detail, and unpredictable patient population I love being on my toes with these babies. Pre-op, Post, op care, Cardiac, Neuro, GI/GU, it is so complex caring for such a complex patient population. I continue to improve my knowledge with classes, conferences, certifications, challenging myself at the beside & taking on new leadership roles etc. Three years into my career I sat for my national NICU Nurse certification. (RNC-NIC) I also love the flexibility. I have worked full time nights, part-time, per diem, as a travel nurse and even changed units, working as a Pediatric Float nurse for a year. (NICU, PICU, CVICU, Oncology etc). Being a nurse offers different opportunities, schedules, specialties, and educational growth. After much time soul searching, networking, & seeing so many specialties, providers, brands etc. I decided to start a Podcast! I realized I had this huge network of providers, innovators, people of interest to bring to you! In addition, I value education & am working to advance my degree. I decided to make the leap and head back to school! I decided on the MSN route and am currently an MSN Capella University sponsored student. And this is the beauty of nursing! There are so many opportunities out there! xo

YES. I was hired as a NICU New Grad Nurse and NO, I did not have prior NICU nursing experience. However, I interviewed for several different Nurse Residency Programs all over California & Arizona. It took me 8+ months and multiple interviews to land my first job out of nursing school. This is why I am so passionate about the interview process. This is a skill we don't learn in nursing school and a key aspect in the job application process. If you are in the process of interviewing I highly recommend our E-book and Podcast episode to help you in your process! SHOP MY NEW GRAD NURSE E-BOOK & RESOURCES! THINK LIKE AN ATHLETE! INTERVIEW PREP PODCAST EPISODE

Yes, it is a great place to start as a New Grad Nurse! I loved my Nurse Residency Program and don't feel you need experience elsewhere before applying. However, I know plenty of amazing NICU nurses who transitioned from other units! (Adult ICU, L&D, Mother Baby units, PACU, OR, etc). In fact, when I was applying for jobs I truly thought I wanted to be a CVICU/CTICU Cardiothoracic Pediatric Nurse. That was my passion! However, due to application process & job strategy. I opted to apply to NICU! (The NICU was hiring more New Grads.) I landed the job, discovered my love for my Preemie population & now, I have the opportunity to work with cardiothoracic patients within my level IV NICU! Best of both worlds. You never know where you will land! And embrace your journey! You never know!

Working as a Nurse (or in any healthcare position for that matter) is one of the most rewarding and taxing jobs out there. We are in the business of curing and or healing people. Quite honestly, it can be very draining. Patients at their best & worst in our everyday job. We work with life & death. Life & life support. The happiest & saddest of the human experiences. To be frank, it is a lot, both mentally & physically. At this point of my career I have learned boundaries. I do find ways to grow as a nurse. For example; I participate in committees, attend conferences, take classes, precept, take on projects, etc. However, I do have moments when I say "No." I have learned this over time & with experience. (I went through a heavy "burnout" time period early on in my bedside career. 3 years into NICU I was very "burned out," and I decided to make a change; this is when I took on my first travel assignment.) That truly helped me rekindle my love for bedside. Now, I enjoy my bedside care, studying to become a Family Nurse Practitioner, instagramming, blogging, creating a new business, time with my husband, family & friends, working out, riding horses, beach time, skiing etc. Find balance. That is my biggest pearl of wisdom.

Well, frankly Yes. And no. Working in the neonatal (NICU) patient population is very different than any other unit. (We don’t do “BIG people”) Our vital signs, medications, priorities of care, etc. all ALL different. Truly any unit, clinic, hospital, community setting you go into will be unique in its own way. There is no way to keep up with every skill (you only kind of learned) in nursing school or your home unit. BUT the beauty of nursing is you can always try something else! I have worked as a travel nurse & pediatric critical care float nurse (CVICU, PICU, NICU, & Oncology) ! It is exciting to relearn about patient populations and update skills! If you decide you want to move on & try something new you can! Just because you "lost" your skill doesn't mean you can't learn it back. Nursing is like riding a bike. You just get back on and try it again. GET ALL THE DEETS HERE: THE CELLFIE SHOW - LIFE OF A NICU NURSE

NO. You no not NEED to work med surg first. First to understand, ICU nursing and Med Surg nursing are very different skill sets. In my (humble) opinion, this is an old school train of thought. If you want to go into a specialty, go for it. After 9+ years of nursing practice, I can confidently say nursing is becoming more and more boutique, with specialized care. Therefore, if you know you want to go into the neonatal population (or any specialty for that matter), DO IT! However, it can be difficult to land your first job in a NICU Nurse. As I stated, it took me 8+ months and multiple interviews to land my first job. If you find yourself unable to land your first job there I have two pieces of advice. A FEW TIPS: ​​​​​​​ 1. First, embrace your journey! Everyone's path is different. Who knows where your personal nurse journey will lead you. 2. If you work for a while & find yourself miserable, take time to spruce up your resume & portfolio; research Nurse Transition programs or Fellowships & make some changes. 3. You may have to move or consider a life change but it is achievable.

After 9+ years of working bedside and creating this blog, I realized there were few places to really understand the NICU nurse world. (Wither personal perspective and without ridiculous ads or company incentives). Which is a BIG piece of why I started my blog and curating this space for you. THE BASICS: NURSING SCHOOL: (ADN or BSN programs. BSN preferred for most NICU RN new grad positions) PASS NCLEX (Nursing boards) APPLY FOR NICU New Grad Nurse job openings or APPLY FOR NICU FELLOWSHIP job openings (experienced nurses) or APPLY FOR NICU with experience (ICU / L&D, Postpartum, ED, Peds, PICU, Mother / Baby, etc). Consider Level III - Level IV NICU centers (Children's Hospitals, University centers, consult centers etc) Are you curious what it is like to be a NICU Nurse? How to become a NICU Nurse? Looking for Nurse Interview Tips & Tricks? CHECK OUT MY EXCLUSIVE NURSE CONTENT! These are my PREMIUM posts curated to help you in your Nurse journey! From NICU Nurse (modern day insight), to Nurse Interview Tricks, Portfolio curation, New Grad Nurse Tips, & everything in between, I have compiled all of my BEST content here for you to help land that dream job!

Too many to count! I have compiled 9+ years of NICU nurse experience, crowd sourced from NICU colleagues, and combined it all here for you in this blog. SKIP THE RESEARCH and gain instant access to the Exclusive NICU Nurse blogs full with proven strategies and actions steps to implement your nursing career now. ​ Starting in a new setting, getting to know a very unique tiny but mighty patient population! Not to mention the fact that NICU nurses have been in high demand with most hospitals seeing an above average flood of NICU admissions. Whether you have landed your job in the NICU, thinking about applying to nursing school, in the thick of school, or are a new grad considering where to apply - here’s some hot tips for you if you’re considering starting out your career in the NICU!

Prepare to feel like a New Grad again. And it’s OK. NICU is truly its own world. Vital signs, medication, plan of care, priorities, emotions, treatments, diagnosis, etc. are all so different. I have been a NICU nurse for 6 years and STILL feel that way (especially working in a Level IV NICU setting. When the Norms are: Heart Rate: 100-200 (anything below 60 makes you break out in sweats) Respirations 10-100 (apnea is normal and always expected) FiO2 Sats: 85-100 (but sats of 50s are ok, as long as you have a heart rate lol) Temp: 36.5-37.5 C (anything outside of these are a big NO NO) NPASS: Pain Score 0-4 IV meds are in .01 ml (NO seriously. And your flush behind the med is technically a bolus) ALLL Plan of care is based on Gestsation & Weight Skin to skin is an essential part of your plan of care. HFOV (Oscillator) is your best friend Caffeine is you other best friend Poop is something you will celebrate. You know you are in the right place xo CHECK MY BLOG POST ON "NICU NURSE 101" FOR MORE INSIGHT!! CHECK OUT MY BLOG POST ON "NICU NURSE 101" CHECK OUT MY PODCAST FULL OF NICU NURSE HOT TOPICS!!!

There are many reasons why a baby would end up in a NICU. As simple as dehydration from difficulty breast feeding to life threatening diagnosis or congenital diseases. Much of what NICU nurses experience at the bedside is determined by their NICU setting. (Level I-IV NICU). Diagnosis Include: Prematurity (babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy) Early term infants (babies born between 37-39 weeks of pregnancy) Low birth weight (babies that weigh less than 5.5 pounds) Micro-preemies, Sepsis (serious infections) Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) Heart Defects Congenital anomalies Respiratory failure Birth defects Trauma Seizures Gastroschisis Hypoglycemia Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) Intraventricular Hemorrhage (IVH) Jaundice Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) Multiples (Twins, Triplets) Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS, drug addicted mothers) Unknown pregnancies Precipitous birth Placental Abruption, etc. Learn more here....NICU 101

To work bedside (as a NICU nurse) you need your: 1. Associates Degree in Nursing (ADN) or Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN).Bachelors (BSN) is becoming preferred for most positions. 2. After 2+ years of working in your specialty you can sit for your RNC “certification.” The purpose of the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing Core Certification is to provide a competency-based examination that tests specialty knowledge and the application of that knowledge for, licensed registered nurses in the US and Canada with a minimum of two years of specialty experience in providing care to acutely and critically ill neonatal patients and their families within an intensive care environment. The most common NICU certification is RNC-NIC (this is the certification I obtained).

I took my RNC-NIC after 3 years of experience. And if you know me, you understand how much I hated this. (I am a horrible student & test taker...but I did it, and so glad I did.) Nurses can take the RNC-NIC Certification for Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing via the National Certification Corporation (NCC). Learn more about the RNC Certification for Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing (RNC-NIC) in my EXCLUSIVE Nurse Content! ♡ NICU NURSE RESOURCES FOR NEW AND EXPERIENCED NURSES ​ ♡ WEBSITES / CERTIFICATIONS / BSN / MSN / NNP INSIGHT ​ ♡ NEW GRAD & EXPERIENCED NURSE TIPS TO LAND THAT DREAM JOB

Any time someone is PAYING you to learn, I say DO IT! Nurse Residencies “New Grad Programs” “Versant Program” are all paid transition programs from nursing school to the professional Nurse world. They are all slightly different types of programs but all basically the same idea. Get paid to learn your specialty. I loved my program & say YES DO IT.

Yes I do! TOO MANY TO COUNT! After spending 9+ years in the nursing field and much time applying for jobs (New grad positions, travel nurse positions, per diem & staff nurse) I have certainly had my fill of the Nurse interview process. Filling out the online applications can be overwhelming, but landing that interview is so exhilarating! Here are some Nurse Interview Tips and Tricks I have learned along the way. Head over to check out all of our pearls of wisdom, resources, Nurse Report sheets, SBAR printables, interview prep tips, resume writing, tips & tricks as well. NURSE RECOURCES

NO! I know plenty of nurses who made "nursing" a second or third career. It takes 2-4 years to get through nursing school. (Pre-rec time included). If you become a nurse at 40+, you still have 25+ years of work potential! I personally think some of the best nurses come into the industry with seasoned life experience. Life, family, ups & downs, that is what will make you relatable. ​​​​​​​CHECK OUT MY BLOG POST ON "NICU NURSE 101" CHECK OUT MY PODCAST FULL OF NICU NURSE HOT TOPICS!!!

There are a few ways to tackle this! How to Become a NICU (Neonatal Nurse)? I have curated several exclusive NICU Nurse Blogs with detailed insight on how to land a NICU job. After looking online for some insight, I discovered A TON of DATED, and frankly INCORRECT blogs speaking on this manner. So, I thought I would set the story straight for you!