Some of you may find yourself asking, “Will I lose all of my skills if I work in the NICU?”
Well, honestly, the simple answer is YES! However, you will GAIN so many others! Let me break it down for you…
As a new grad RN entering the NICU, you will definitely lose many “nursing school” skills that you (kind of) learned throughout your clinicals and practicums. Point blank. In general, any specialty that you decide to pursue will cause you to strengthen one skillset and lose another.
However, there are SO MANY more skills that you will learn in the NICU world compared to the three measly PowerPoint slides that nursing school gave you. Working with the neonatal population is very different from any other unit. (We don’t do “BIG people”). Our vital signs, medications, labs, and what we consider to be “normal” is SO different from the adult world or even the rest of the hospital. The NICU is such a unique place, and there is no way to keep up with every skill that you (kind of) learned in nursing school.
However, the funny thing is that most NICU nurses will tell you that they gladly gave up skills they may have “lost” because of how much they love working with neonates.
But the beauty of nursing is you can always try something else if you decide you want to move on! Just because you "lost" your skill doesn't mean you can't relearn it. Nursing is like riding a bike. You just get back on and try it again.