[joo_bang]

Hi everyone,
This is my first time posting,
I am a senior nursing student in buffalo ,NY
If anyone would be kind enough to share with me their likes and dislikes about working in the neonatal ICU,
the reason I am asking is because my college provides the senior students with an opportunity to have a preceptorship experience in a hospital of their choice but we have to give an area that we want to go into which for me is the NICU and why we want to go into that area, well being a student doesn't give me much to elaborate on except for the fact that I LOVE babies and want to give the best care I can under critical situations.
If anyone can offer some insight I would be soooo grateful.
Oh I was thinking about any location in the NYC area (NYU medical center, crossing my fingers) or the LIJ medical center in Manhasset, if anyone is from that area.
Thanks

[dawngloves]

Hmmm...
I like seeing the babies get better. I like working under pressure, using my critical thinking, problem solving. I like a shift with nothing but feeder growers to cuddle. I like a shift when I have a 1:1 sicky poo neonate.
I dislike telling a parent how sick their baby is, I hate when they cry cause I have to cry to. I hate running to thick meconium deliveries all day. I dislike having several shift in a row of feeder growers. I hate having several shifts in a row of a really sick neonate.

[fergus51]

I just love patients that are little and need me. I love dealing with the whole family. I love teaching about newborn care to new parents and seeing them become more confident in their ability to care for their babies. I love the long term nature of the relationship. Many of our babies are in the unit for months and it is very satisfying to see them progress.

I hate having too many babies and too little time. I hate taking care of babies when I know they will not do well and we are only treating them ( and making them suffer) because the parents aren't ready to admit that.

[Horseyrn]

Hi, I think NICU provides many different challenges and many satisfying experiences. For me Its about seeing the spirit of these little babies, how hard they fight for life. I like to get to know the parents and help them learn to care for their baby and see the progress as the baby grows. One thing i liked about NICU is that there is a set of problems you see with these babies over and over again so you can create a strong knowledge base as you go. I also like those challenging cases that are different that come along. For me the only negatives are when i can't provide the best care because of understaffing or working with a resident who is lazy and won't work with the parents. Good Luck to you, i hope whatever experience you get helps you to decide what field you want to work in

[Brownms46]

I haven't worked in NICU in a very long time, but I enjoyed it for the most part. I went into it because I had a child who was in a NICU for 60 days or more. I wanted to help other children and parents. And I guess caring for her, helped me lose some of the fear in caring for other neonates.

But I enjoyed cuddling them, or being able to calm them. To reassure and to educate the parents, and provide emotional support to them. I even was able to take care of triplets from our church, and it was wonderful to see the faces of their parents when they found out I was one of the ones caring for them.

Watching them progress from being baby, A, B, and C in level III, to level II and then home..and each having real personalities. So much so I could tell which one was crying, without looking. And to be there to assist their mom and dad! I think that was one of the best moments I can remember now.

But I also didn't like having a pt in the unit, that was born with multiple birth defects to a nurse, and a soldier!! There were orders not to feed or bag this child!!! But no one paid attention to that order! We couldn't listen to it cry, or watch it gasp for air without doing something!

Or to take care of a child of a woman, who had been given genetic conseling, and advised not to have anymore children, as each of the 3 she had died from a severe form of, and I'm thinking it was "Dandy Walker Syndrome ".

I can still remember the day the last one died, and they had to send the nurse who cared for the him daily... home! Yes there're negatives to being in the unit, but thankfully, more and more children survive, than they used to, d/t the dedicated nurses and doctors who care for them.

I hope you get your wish, and received the precetorship of your choice. Good luck and nice to see another homie as I'm originally from Buffalo too!