NICU_3_RN

I wish I had been as smart as your sister... I'm trying to get out of there!

I did not find this to be true at Kimball. They're not supportive and the benefits are not that good (you can only use their doctors). I'd go elsewhere if possible.

definitely Meridian over St Barnabus... you'll be much happier.

I worked in the NICU at Jersey Shore - loved it. Left to get off night shift. I've been told that there are very difficult personalities and "cliques" at Monmouth in the NICU. The pedi ER at Jersey Shore is supposed to be good...

if you have an opportunity to go elsewhere, do it.

NeoProfen comes with all of the same possible side effects as Indocin. The positive aspects of NeoProfen are that the side effects, while the same, occur less frequently. So, NeoProfen is not a miracle drug, but it is really really nice to use, knowing that those nasty NECs won't occur as often.

the thought process is, that yes, even with NeoProfen, but with lower incidence, that the reason why there is an increased incidence of NEC after Indocin/NeoProfen therapy is because the drugs provide a decreased perfusion to the gut. Therefore, the thinking in some circles is to hold feeds, JUST IN CASE. It is important for nurses to remember that NeoProfen is a drug with LESS FREQUENT side effects than Indocin, it DOES still have the SAME side effects. They're not as common, but they still exist.

I'm walking in Belmar, NJ with a bunch of nurses and disease management girls at my new Case Management job. My first time - and I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully the weather will be better that day than it has been, because I'm not looking forward to walking 5 miles in freezing rain. icky.

Dria - thanks for your reply! The end of week one - and I keep coming back and I haven't cried yet. So far so good! One of the other new girls says, "look at it like this - at the end of the day you haven't given anyone the wrong med and no one died". I've seen a lot of death lately - so that strikes me as very good advice. I'm a little bit overwhelmed seeing all of the systems I'm going to have to use, but at the end of the day, I'll still be making a difference, and not working 12 hours on my feet to do it. I DID keep my NICU job per diem, so that is nice - and I hope that will keep me from missing the hospital at all. Thanks again!! From a new Pediatric Case Manager

Hi - can anyone give me a low down on how they like office based case management. I'm going to be age group specific, not disease, and I'm office based for an insurance company in catastrophic disease or injury. My experience is all in critical care... ED and NICU... hours and benefits wise, this move for me is a no brainer - but starting over is SCARY. Any advice, pearls of wisdom or thoughts of good wishes are welcome.... Thanks!

thanks for your replies... i do work 12 hours at a time -and I can tell you that part of the reason i'm not doing well with it any more is because i'm lving with family at the moment, and htey're not doingg night shift - so it's hard. you can bet that they dont' understand taht i need to sleep during the day - and it's hard to have an actual life when my boyfriend is a regular 9-5er. so, on days i have to work, if i get 4.5 - 5 hours of sleep, im lucky... and then to acclimate when i'm off... its just so hard any more. I was doing it as a matter of choice for the larger shifft diff originally, but now that i'm getting older, honestly, it just sucks. as much as I don't know if I could ever work days... (ugh, 7am report time. ick)... at least then i'd have a regular schedule, you know? i just don't know.

all i know is i have a new motorola phone and if it's int he car or near my computer or tv and it's receiving a text or a call, buzzing comes from whatever it's near... if it can happen to one it can happen to another.

Any night shifters here? I'm only 30 (soon to be 31) and I feel like my body is falling apart. I've been working night shift since college (about 10 years give or take). I've gained weight, can't sleep, my joints ache - i feel like a 90 year old!!! Advice?

you actually don't need heparin in any peripheral IV for flushing purposes. There's been plenty of studies on that fact. We actually flush q8 on my unit with NS, and have no problems with PIVs clotting off. And we use only 24g PIVs. And the bottom line problem in this case was that the nurses didn't check the label. coloring, size or "whats usually stocked there" be damned... WE as nurses are the last line of defense for these babies. If we're not protecting them, no one else is going to. We're all taught the 5 rights for a reason. Not checking them, no matter how busy you are, is recipe for disaster, as proven in this tragedy.

i left the ER after 3 years and went to the NICU. YOu have to remember that in the ER there are no staffing ratios, and the patients keep coming... you can't turn any away... the facility i was doing ER in had a problem with "holding" patients as well.. the day i started looking for a new job was the day i had 11 patients total, including 1 MI on a vent "holding" for an ICU bed, and 4 regular bed admits... on top of my 6 ER patients. After three years and loving it - i decided my license was more important. I recognize that it is not like that everywhere - but this was after 10 years of being an EMT and never having wanted to do anything else. I LOVED ER. Just don't go in with blinders, and keep your eyes open. it can be a great experience... but at what cost?