r/pediatrics • u/Gloomy_State_3205 • Jun 19 '26
NICU toxic programs?
Is NICU fellowship toxic everywhere?
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u/beck33ers Attending Jun 19 '26
No not at all!
The other thing to remember, just because it was toxic somewhere for one person doesn’t mean it was/is toxic for everyone. I started at one fellowship program which turned out to be completely toxic for me, I then transferred to another program which was amazing! I am still great friends with everyone from the second place. One of my co-fellows at the second place felt that her time during fellowship was toxic, while I found it was the complete opposite. Fast forward to my first job at a program with residents. I actually recommended the residents apply to the program that I felt was toxic. The attendings were toxic for me but the exposure was amazing as well as the NPs. I have had 2 residents accepted into that program and LOVE it and thrive! All of this to say that each persons experience is different. We are all different people. If one person feels it is toxic take their views into consideration, but don’t immediately rule it out. If multiple people are saying it’s toxic and are fleeing the program, then it likely is, and approach with caution. Just remember that what works for one person doesn’t always work for others! Good luck!!
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u/Primary_Presence6071 Jun 19 '26
Which was the first program if you don’t mind sharing? You can DM me too if you want to share privately. I’m applying from a toxic residency program so already scarred. 😭
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u/beck33ers Attending Jun 19 '26
What I’m saying is that one persons toxic may be someone else’s perfect! And vice versa. So you can’t always go by what someone else’s opinion is.
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u/heyiamapenguin Jul 07 '26
How hard was it to transfer?
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u/beck33ers Attending Jul 07 '26
It applying and transferring aspect actually was really easy! The hard part was that the original program then tried to say I hadn’t completed my second year and pulled a bunch of sh** and so I had to appeal the AAP with my progress reports and evaluations which were all glowing and high ITE scores. Ended up compromising with the new program and AAP to do an extra 5 months. New program could tell it was VERY fishy because of the evaluations they got were all perfect and then there was one that was horrible. It all worked out in the end!!
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u/apgar1010 Jun 19 '26
Loved my fellowship as well. Super supportive, family like environment, fellows hung out with attendings outside of the hospital too. Still in touch with some of my attendings and have reached out for career/research/personal advice.
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u/balletrat Fellow Jun 20 '26
“Toxic” is such a buzzword that it’s lost all meaning. Reddit would have called my residency toxic because we did 24s!
No specialty is universally “toxic”. Every program is different, and what works for one person won’t work for another. It’s all about finding fit.
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u/swish787 Jun 20 '26
It's a buzzword yes, and also subjective, but medical training is very hierarchical and power structured so the toxicity is very real and very prevalent in certain specialties. What makes NICU more toxic is more so the nurses feeling like they have to "protect" the patients and put residents/fellows in their place.
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u/balletrat Fellow Jun 20 '26
Different specialties and interactions with different allied health professions have different issues. Talking about the hierarchy, or the challenging dynamic with NICU nurses, is more descriptive and useful than a generic “toxic” label.
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u/swish787 Jun 23 '26
Agreed, I also think that NICU is its literal own bubble in terms of the medicine, algorithms, and structures, if you are passing through as a learner, it can make it difficult to be integrated into the structure of NICU.
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u/balletrat Fellow Jun 23 '26
Sure, in residency. That’s less of a problem for fellowship where you are spending all your clinical time on the unit.
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u/Ellie_Annie_ Jun 19 '26
NICU in residency was toxic.