[deepurple]

anyone who want to share your experiences??

[kessadawn]

I am a PICU nurse and I work nights. I'll tell you what I love the most:
When that little baby you have spent weeks caring for, fighting to keep this little guy alive, is finally recovered enough to be held and cuddled. When his parents have enough trust in you to be able to go to the Ronald McDonald House for the night and get some rest. When it's 3am and it's quiet and dark in his room, and it's just you and this little guy, and he curled up in your arms as you rock, and he reaches up and put one little fat hand on your cheek and quietly looks into your eyes, you know he feels safe, and you know he's gonna pull through. Yeah, that's what dreams are made of!

[deepurple]

wow! that is very a memorable moment for u kessadawn..

[RN2B73]

That sounds amazing I love the little ones too! I am just curious what determines when a baby goes from the NICU to the PICU? I am interested in the NICU upon graduation.

[janfrn]

Most of the time it's age. NICU doesn't like to keep chronically critical kids forever. By the time they're three or four months old, they'll be looking at transitioning the baby and family. PICU is usually foreign territory for NICU parents because we do things a bit differently in most cases. So there's a bit of an adjustment necessary.

[Brittany, RN]

Also, they told me at the Children's Hospital I precepted in that if a baby is discharged from the NICU and for whatever reason becomes critically ill and need to be admitted, they will be admitted to the PICU because the NICU does not take admits from the communtiy, only from their surrounding units (L&D, OR, Mother/Baby) or surrounding hospitals. I was told this is to decrease the risk of infections present in the NICU since the baby could have been exposed to harmful organisms. I am sure there have been exceptions to this rule though.

Brittany

[janfrn]

That's true in a lot of NICUs. Some will take admits from the community but they're rare. We have four NICUs in our city and two of them will take community admits; the one because it's got an isolation room, and the other because it's a surgical unit and sometimes gets kids in from home. Not often, mind you. Mostly they turn them away and we take 'em.