jpeters84

Latest Activity

1. How to get NICU new grad job?

   jpeters84 replied to boyee418's topic in NICU

   As a RN in a San Francisco Level IV NICU I will tell you the only way to get a new grad job in the NICU is to leave the state. That is what all of our CNA's and nurse aides have to do. That is what I did and I was able to come back after three year...

2. Having a hard time getting over a baby's death

   jpeters84 posted a topic in NICU

   I've been a NICU RN for almost four years and in this last year I've been in a very high aquity level IIIc NICU so having a baby die is nothing new to me. My unit seems to lose about one a week sometimes multiple babies in a day. Sad as it may be I...

3. Bringing Developmental Care to a Unit

   jpeters84 posted a topic in NICU

   About a year ago I moved from a large level IIIb NICU where developmental care/NIDCAP was a huge priority to a medium sized NICU level IIIC in a large academic hospital where developmental care has not been implemented. I was never one of the huge de...

4. Crying babies

   jpeters84 replied to HyperSaurus, RN's topic in NICU

   Sucrose and the thing that works for practically every kid is something I call gentle bouncing. Swaddle, put them up on your shoulder and gently move up and down and around. Talk to them in a quiet, soothing voice. Sometimes though there are just ...

5. Christmas in the NICU

   jpeters84 replied to maxx12's topic in NICU

   We got blank baby t-shirts and decorated them with Christmas puffy paints and silling sayings related to Christmas and had parents decorate them with puffy paints.

6. Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

   jpeters84 replied to mrsbbynrsRN's topic in NICU

   We just don't see it anymore. Only in a few of our ex-micros who had a really rough respiratory course. If you're seeing a lot of it you guys might want to look at your numbers as far as the average # of days your kiddos are on ventilators. After ...

7. Nesting Micros who are on Phototherapy Blankets

   jpeters84 posted a topic in NICU

   What does your NICU do to build a good developmental nest with the phototherapy blankets? We have found that the blankets are so stiff, particularly at the bottom with the cord coming out that it has been hard to find a satisfying way to securely ne...

8. Unhappy in unit

   jpeters84 replied to bexspn's topic in NICU

   There's no easy answer here. Different managers and different units are going to have different philosophies. Some will take you right away, some will want you to get more acute care experience than a couple of months, some will have training prog...

9. What do you do about leaks?

   jpeters84 replied to katierobin23's topic in NICU

   Sometimes swap for a larger tube, sometimes put them on the Jet because some Neo's believe this helps, sometimes just except it and work hard on positioning. Depends on how big a leak, how well we're able to ventilate the kid despite the leak, and h...

10. NICU Jobs in San Diego Area

    jpeters84 replied to ashleyquinn's topic in NICU

    I hear great things about UCSD and you can't beat UC benefits! If you're so concerned about the reputation of one hospital why not look elsewhere? UCSD has opennings quite frequently thoughout the year it seems. I also hear good things about Sharp...

11. Help!

    jpeters84 replied to rnblack4's topic in NICU

    You ask a very loaded question. Before going into what you could know about the NICU I think it is important for you to first make sure that they have taken new grads before in this particular NICU and that it is a very supportive new grad training ...

12. NICU PBDS

    jpeters84 replied to newgradRN001's topic in NICU

    ABO Incompatability is one keep searching on allnurses. An old post literally lists like all the possibilities. But the only thing that I could think missing from your list is ABO incompatibility.

13. How long until you felt comfortable/ confident at work?

    jpeters84 replied to HelloooRN's topic in New Nurse

    Honestly sometime between 1.5-2 years. You stop having weird dreams 7-12 months in, the major anxiety goes away by one year but I didn't really hit my stride and become confident until 1.5-2 years. It does go very fast though. Don't be in too much...

14. AMA Discharges

    jpeters84 replied to catlover314's topic in NICU

    We've had a couple parents threaten and our charge RN let me know that the police would arrest the parents the minute they left the hospital and the child would be brought back immediately to the NICU. The arrest is for child endangerment/neglect an...

15. I think I want to be an NNP....

    jpeters84 replied to Katie71275's topic in NP Students

    A couple of things...It's always good to look to the future and think about long-term goals. But at times it can be, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Becoming a neonatal nurse practitioner is not as simple as going to nursing school, getting ...