What is the best way to transition from med/surge telemetry to NICU? I really want to have a new specialty!

If you’re interested in NICU, the absolute first thing that you need to do is contact your local/desired NICU and arrange to shadow a nurse, preferably a nurse who has experience precepting. Learn as much as you can and well you won’t necessarily be able to do anything hands-on, you can ask as many questions as you need to! Try to use that nurse as a reference on your application, and definitely mention that you’ve shadowed x number of hours. It definitely helps to shadow in the NICU where you’re actually going to be applying. Make an effort to introduce yourself to (and make a great impression on) management while you’re there. This serves as not only experience and the opportunity to ask questions, but can also serve as a mini trial interview. While experience on a postpartum unit and/or Labor & Delivery is great, it is absolutely not a prerequisite to get hired in the NICU, nor will it necessarily boost your odds of getting hired in one. Any good NICU is going to offer a (minimum) 12 week long preceptorship, where you learn all you need to know to be come a starter NICU nurse! As your knowledge base grows and your skills develop, you will take on more demanding assignments and have new learning opportunities. We NICU nurses actually joke that L&D nurses are scared of babies once they come out (no offense to my L&D friends!), and postpartum nurses don’t know what to do with a sick baby… that’s why they come to us!

People lean differently, but I believe that any nurse can transition to any specialty with good mentorship, guided hands on practices and in a conducive learning environment. Not in a rushed teaching environment that exists these days.

check and see if your hospital or another have an internship program. L&D teaches you about labor and delivery, not about caring for a baby in the NICU. Newborn nursery will teach you about healthy, normal babies. Become an expert in NORMAL and ABNORMAL will jump out at you...most teaching hospitals do a great job with NICU transitions, as they are used to teaching and explaining why and what

I would say to reach out to your director or the director in the NICU to see what kind of transitional program your facility has. Chances are they would rather keep you in the facility than have you leave to another hospital. If your facility does not have a NICU and you need to go to another facility then reach out to the director of the facility you are thinking of going to and ask if they have a training program from adult nursing to NICU.

Transfer to labor and delivery first. Then you could transfer to NICU after 1 year or so.

Most hospitals offer an internship for specialty areas.

NICU is the BEST job in the hospital!
Apply at hospitals that have at least a 10-12 week orientation to NICU (for those nurses NEW to NICU). You can call any NICU, ask for the charge nurse and ask 'How long is your orientation for nurses with adult experience but new to the NICU?'
Do NOT work at any hospital that tosses you in with a random "preceptor".
They must have a didactic/clinical orientation so that you can be prepared appropriately.
Before even applying to a NICU, get NRP certified. If available in your area complete the S.T.A.B.L.E. program
Having those on your resume will tell the mgr interviewing you that you are serious about coming to the NICU.
Good luck!

You will probably need to find a training program through a hospital.

Drink heavily

My recommendation as a former critical care nurse that did NICU is to do a pediatric FLOOR FIRST; and the reason why is to understand the fundamentals of safety re: medication administration for pedes. Mistakes can be made, in what seems to be minimal amounts, when dealing with potentially 1 lb patients. Get grounded for a year in a pedes floor FIRST, for the safety of the patient and your confidence level.

1. Research the NICU Environment: Get familiar with the unique challenges of working with neonates. Understanding the conditions, equipment, and medical practices in the NICU will help you prepare mentally.
2. Consider Additional Training or Education: Look into specialized certifications or courses, such as neonatal resuscitation, pediatric advanced life support (PALS), or neonatal nursing. These certifications are often highly valued in the NICU.
3. Shadow NICU Nurses: If possible, arrange to shadow nurses working in the NICU. This hands-on observation will help you understand the daily tasks and patient care involved.
4. Apply for NICU Positions: When you feel ready, begin applying for NICU roles. Highlight your telemetry experience, and stress your passion for working with infants, as well as any relevant skills you’ve gained.
5. Leverage Your Med/Surg Experience: Skills such as monitoring vital signs, managing patient care, and dealing with emergencies are transferrable. Emphasize how your current experience can benefit NICU care.
6. Be Open to Entry-Level Positions: It’s common to start in a lower-level NICU role, such as a NICU nurse extern or assistant, and gradually move into a full-time nursing position.
7. Seek Mentorship: Having a mentor who is experienced in the NICU can provide invaluable guidance and support as you make the transition.
8. Stay Patient and Persistent: Transitioning to a new specialty can take time, so stay committed to learning and adapting.

The NICU can be demanding but rewarding, so your desire for a new specialty aligns well with exploring a field where you can make a significant impact on the lives of vulnerable infants and their families.

Speak with the manager of the ICU, tell her your desire to move into the ICU, when you talk to them, tell them why you believe you would be a great asset to the ICU, for example, your a team player, you love learning, you are teachable, you show compassion and empathy to all. Be willing to work at night, thats when you can learn, days is busy and you will burn out, if you hate nights do it for a couple of years then transition to days after you have honed your skills

following, my wife is a BSN RN been in advance medical care, supervisor, wound care, admission nurse, floor nurse, supervisor now she is looking to transition to ER or OR nursing, that has been her dream, any help is appreciated

register online through a phr computer login

Some hospital have specialist areas for training.

I was trying and still I'm trying to do this very same thing I had even gotten to the point where I was willing to go in to a new grad program I said you can put me at the lowest salary whatever I just need to do the I want to hold the babies in my arms and sing with them all day it would be so much more rewarding than dealing with disgruntled grown ups anymore and I was told that to take the NRP class which is neonatal resuscitation

No I was about to do that but then I ended up in a family emergency and then the covid thing came up so being a person who can't get vaccinated in California where they're making us pay for refusing to get vaccines in the first place now you can't work maybe an only 10% of the places that you've ever worked if you can't get a vaccine even if you have a really good medical reason for not trying out some whatever the new demo vaccine is of the day I'm not saying that nobody else should get vaccinated but for me that's not worth the risk of my health cuz I've almost died before from other things that I've had to get my body reacts to whatever you inject me with so I don't need that but that being set aside I still plan on going back to do the neonatal thing so thanks for reminding me that I was on that course but what I was planning to do is after I got the NRP I was going to make like a cover letter and my resume and attach exactly what it is that I want kind of just go around and drop them off with all the nurse managers because they really don't have time to be talking to people just randomly on the phone or even via email when you know they have enough problems already so I think they'd be more likely to to be open to training somebody if you didn't waste their time like kind of thing you know which if you don't know somebody's kind of rude to cold cold

NICU
There are many versions of NICU; Neuro, neonatal, or ???

I think you need OBS/NSY experience first..... slowly transition..... Orient to labor and del. first..... then Post Partum. get a good basic hold on the whole process.... and what mom ..dad..and baby all go thru..... after you really get Lots of Experience in all these areas.... then transition to orient to NICU ..... You may find its not for you.... nurses cant assume just because they are nurses that you will know what to do.... each area is intensive in its own ways...... GOOD LUCK !!

They'll probably want you to have experience with babies. I would recommend going to Labor and Delivery or Mom and Baby first and then transitioning to NICU when a position becomes available

Okay sorry I've been reading the other replies and just to clarify I want to make sure that you're not asking as somebody who's going to go to a different hospital for the NICU cuz a lot of places don't have both so that being said if you are not an employee of the hospital that you want to Shadow a nurse or to you know get into to transfer transition sideways across you know lateral move you won't be able to or you should not that's a red flag if anybody that doesn't know you will allow you to follow somebody else no questions asked that is a huge red flag for what we call code pink you know when someone's trying to take a baby out of the area that doesn't belong to and they don't work there well they shouldn't even if you work there you shouldn't be able to have access to any of the babies anyway anywhere even in the postpartum so at least in California I don't know how Arizona is but I would be willing to go stay with one of my friends that lives in Arizona if they said Nicki manager will allow me to Shadow somebody lol but I'm not kidding I really would and I work nights and every holiday and every weekend that you need to cover cuz my kids are all grown and I don't have anybody responsible not even pets right now so I don't care what day it is I will work anything that's night time and I'm a jock for life so I'm always going to be long strong and lean even with a broken damn leg I've been running you know sideways something that needs to be repaired but it wasn't the right time I'm still running I was running up to 20 miles a week but now I got a job at a place where their floors really hard and I need to be able to get around at work so I'm not stupid enough to do both but that being said I think I'd be a really good employee and I'd hire me ;-)