katierobin23

Latest Activity

1. 10 year old died after I performed CPR

   katierobin23 replied to MjHudd's topic in General Nursing

   Being a PICU nurse, I've learned the harsh truth which is that some kids will die no matter how hard we try to save them. I'm so sorry you're going through this, but know that you did everything you could have done to help him.

2. Now THAT'S a lab result

   katierobin23 replied to emtb2rn's topic in General Nursing

   BUN 300. Alive and hopefully will stay that way, this is a patient in my PICU right now. Was down to 89 when I left this morning... 25 kg kid [emoji15]

3. NG tube question

   katierobin23 replied to RNinCali15's topic in NICU

   If a baby is having feeding issues and has an NG (even a term kid), I want to know what's in the stomach before I start, even if the baby is going to nipple. If he doesn't feed well, was it because he still had a bunch of milk in there from three hou...

4. I Should Be in Jail

   katierobin23 replied to allnurses's topic in General Nursing

   I'm starting in the PICU at a large children's hospital on Monday and these cases are what scare me the most. I can only hope I am able to handle myself as you have.

5. Attention NICU Nurses! What advice do you have for a new Grad RN?

   katierobin23 replied to journey2success's topic in NICU

   ^^Everything that they said! The best advice I can give is to be a sponge! Take advantage of every learning opportunity and ask questions. I've found NICU nurses tend to be eager to help out newbies as long as you're eager to learn. We are big advoca...

6. Which Milk Warmer Do You Use?

   katierobin23 replied to mgturtle's topic in NICU

   We just started using the Medelas, but our policy is to only change the liners when soiled or torn. Has any research been done to justify changing more frequently? Very curious to see if we're in the wrong! Each liner is labeled with a patient label ...

7. IV Insertion in School?

   katierobin23 replied to meganec17's topic in General Nursing

   We never even covered it. Very similar to what OP said, we were told that we would be trained on the job. I think it may have something to do with the location of the school...I went to nursing school in the northeast but then moved to NC for my firs...

8. L&D or Mother/baby before getting into NICU?

   katierobin23 replied to thejetsetnurse's topic in NICU

   In my opinion, L&D will help you more. Mother/Baby is almost entirely healthy couplets, you'll need strong assessment skills to know when something is going wrong but for the most part your patients will be healthy. L&D on the other hand, you...

9. Does Anyone Use NICU View?

   katierobin23 replied to rnkaytee's topic in NICU

   We have Angel Eye cameras, they're still new so I can't speak to long term use issues but so far it hasn't been a problem. We were worried about the increased call volume but honestly, I think we've seen a decrease. I personally haven't fielded any c...

10. Sedation/Intubation

    katierobin23 replied to kjk47's topic in NICU

    Very similar to NicuGal, we give a dose of fentanyl before intubation if it's not an emergent situation. Most kids on conventional ventilators don't get pain control, we use non-pharmacologic methods instead and most do just fine. Babies on a jet so...

11. Weekly NICU MRSA swabs

    katierobin23 replied to countyERNICU's topic in NICU

    We swab nares of every baby on admission and every 2 weeks. Any baby that comes up positive is on contact precautions until discharge. Any baby whose mom was positive is also on contact until discharge, regardless of the baby's actual status.

12. Transfusion associated NEC

    katierobin23 replied to essT's topic in NICU

    We continue to feed if the feeds are 50ml/kg/day or less. Any more than that and they are NPO for 3 hours before and 8 hours after. We run blood over 3 hours, so the kid ends up on fluids (clears if they aren't already running tpn/il) for the better ...

13. Rare birth: Baby born completely encased in amniotic sac

    katierobin23 replied to guest769224's topic in NICU

    That cracked me up too! I would have had a hard time not responding with, "you don't say!"

14. Single vs. Double lumen

    katierobin23 replied to ScammRNC's topic in NICU

    Following! I'm really curious too

15. ECG leads for micropreemies

    katierobin23 replied to NICURN29's topic in NICU

    We have a policy that says we can choose not to use leads on micropreemies with significant skin integrity issues. Those babies almost always have a UAC which we use in conjunction with the pulse ox to monitor their heart rate until the skin matures ...