Whether you are a nursing student or a curious parent who wants to know the difference between NICU and PICU, both provide a high level of care to the children. NICU stands for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and only provides care to newborn babies and infants. PICU stands for Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and provides care to infants, children, and adolescents. Let’s discover the difference between NICU and PICU.
What is NICU?
NICU stands for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and provides intensive care to the critically ill newborn babies, especially pre-mature babies. Neonatal nurses take care of patients whose age range is from newborn to 28 days, which is the neonatal period. These newborn babies are premature, have low birth weight, birth defects, respiratory problems, infections, etc.
How to become a NICU nurse? What are NICU nurse requirements?
NICU or neonatal nurse requirements are as follows:
- ADN (Associate Degree in Nursing) or BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing).
- Pass the NCLEX-RN exam to become a registered nurse.
- Gain experience ideally in labor and delivery, pediatric, etc.
Get NICU-specific training.
Consider certifications such as Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), STABLE Program – for neonatal post-resuscitation care, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS).
What are the roles of NICU nurses?
Neonatal nurses give care to patients who are premature babies, and the age range is from birth to 28 days old, which is the neonatal period. The duties of NICU nurses are as follows:
- Continuously monitoring vital signs of newborn babies, such as their heart rate, breathing, etc.
- Administering medications and IVs.
- Assessing with performing medical procedures.
- Managing advanced medical equipment used in NICU, such as ventilators, incubators, etc.
- Documenting everything.
- Communicating and providing emotional support to the baby’s parents.
What is PICU?
PICU stands for Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and pediatric nurses provide intensive care to critically ill infants, children, and adolescents. PICU or pediatric nurses take care of patients whose age range is beyond the neonatal period, which is 1 month to 18 years old. The conditions treated in PICU are severe infections, chronic illness, heart problems, respiratory failure, trauma, accidents, etc.
How to become a PICU nurse? What are PICU nurse requirements?
Requirements for pediatric nurses are as follows:
- Earn a nursing degree, such as ADN or BSN.
- Pass the NCLEX-RN exam to get your nursing license.
- Gain experience ideally in the areas of pediatrics, general ICU, or ER.
- Consider certifications like PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support), BLS (Basic Life Support), CCRN (Pediatric) Certification, etc.
What is the role of PICU nurses?
They are tailored to provide age-specific care to the patients. The age of the patients is 1 month to 18 years. The duties of a PICU nurse are as follows:
- Administering medications and treatments to children.
- Monitoring their vital signs.
- Coordinating with other healthcare workers.
- Rapid response to the change in the condition of the children.
- Managing medical equipment in the PICU, such as ventilators, IV pumps, etc.
- Assisting with medical procedures such as CPR, catheter insertions, etc.
- Educating and providing emotional support to the family of the patients.
What are the main differences between NICU vs PICU?
The difference between NICU vs PICU are as follows:
Age group
NICU: Pre-mature babies up to 28 days old.
PICU: 1 month to 18-year-olds.
Staff:
NICU: Staff members are neonatal nurses and neonatologists.
PICU: Staff members are pediatric nurses and pediatric intensivists.
Focus of care:
NICU: Birth-related conditions or premature babies.
PICU: Injury or critical illness in children.
Equipment used:
NICU: Neonatal incubators and neonatal equipment.
PICU: Pediatric size beds with broader equipment.
What is the difference between neonatal nurses vs pediatric nurses?
Both neonatal nurses and pediatric nurses provide care to young patients. The main difference is the age of the patients they provide care for. Neonatal nurses or NICU nurses are trained to provide care for babies whose age range is from newborn to 28 days old, which is the neonatal period. And the pediatric nurses or PICU nurses provide care to the children after their neonatal period. The age range is from 1 month to 18 years.it consists of children, infants, and adolescents.
Conclusion
The goal of both NICU nurses and PICU nurses is to provide care for the children. The main difference between NICU or neonatal nurses and PICU or pediatric nurses is that NICU nurses take care of premature babies, and the age range is from newly born to 28 days old, i.e., is neonatal period. They treat birth-related medical conditions. PICU nurses or pediatric nurses provide care for infants, children, and adolescents. These children have different health issues, and the age range is from 1 month to 18 years. Whether you are a seasoned travel nurse or a nurse with at least 1 to 2 years of experience, join SkillGigs now and become part of our travel nursing world.
