"One thing about NICU nursing is that the patient is not always the only 'patient,' so to speak. I have learned that being a good pediatric nurse also means being able to communicate with family members who are unsure of what to expect or who don't quite understand a diagnosis--this takes a great deal of stress off of them. Last year, I had a young patient who was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, and his mother immediately broke down in tears. The child didn't understand what was happening at the age of three, and I took the time to console the mother and reassure her that her child would be in the best care possible with our pediatric oncology team. I helped lay out an initial care plan for her and left the rest in the hands of our oncology team. She gave me a great big hug at the end of the appointment and thanked me for consoling her."

Being able to identify stressors that may affect a family member of a NICU patient is important in this role. You ideally want to stress to your interviewer that you will always have an empathetic and understanding approach while you educate the family members on all the steps of their loved ones' care

"During my clinical rotation, there was a 23-week-old baby born prematurely that had been recently transferred to the NICU. Halfway through the shift, he began to desaturate and his heart rate dropped. I began to bag the patient until my preceptors and other RNs arrived in the room, at which point they took over trying to bring his heart rate back up. Unfortunately, despite their chest compressions, IV medications, and other invasive procedures, the baby did not survive. The physician delivered the news to the family, and the mother was inconsolable. After most of the other staff had left the bedside, with permission from my preceptor, I remained with the mother for the next hour providing support until her spouse could arrive. I felt such deep sadness and empathy for her and her family as it's hard to fathom the loss of a child. I sat and listened to her talk, I was compassionate and made sure she knew she was the most important thing to me in that moment. I did all that I could to be there for her until her support arrived as well as the grief counselor."