Geez...quit having babies already!!

Specialties NICU

Published

Specializes in NICU, PICU, educator.

We are over capacity in our unit...we have been needing 21-25 nurses per shift and that is not easy to cover!!!! We closed to all transports including maternal! We may be sending some of the older bigger kids to board on the peds floors and in PICU! Ack!

How are things in your neck of the woods?

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Specializes in NICU.

Our census has gone up the past few weeks as well! We are note quite yet at capacity, but are getting pretty close. It just feels busier than it is because we have a lot of really sick babies, when I left last week we had 3 1:1 assignments...

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Specializes in PICU, ICU, Transplant, Trauma, Surgical.

We are not even half-way full! I know this is the calm before the storm though. I know how you're feeling, our whole city was in the same boat in November.... we had to xport a kiddo to KC whose mom delivered @ our hosp :( ALL the NICUs in the whole state were > at capacity.

We do have lots of high acuity pts. 3 1:1 assisgnments as well. Pretty crappy stuff.

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Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

Our little 10 bed unit has been @ or close to capacity off and on the past few weeks. If we go over 10, there is he** to pay. (Nsg office calls ~ q hr to see if we've d/c or transferred anyone! Great! We have NO clerk, folks!)

Staffing is very strict, no more than 3/nurse, supposed to be 2 if they have lines. But the environment is soo chaotic--I hate that. And the transistion babies just keep on coming for their baths, shots, assessments, yada, yada.

Good for me tho, I get work.

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).

We have actually been hovering at/around 65-70, (we sometimes have around 80) with not too many cardiacs right now. We do have one ECMO running. Luckily we have actually had decent staffing, with 30-32 nurses on each shift. We still need around 35-36 though....

Lots of multiples recently, something like 5 sets of triplets, 6 sets of twins, etc. in the last 3 weeks.

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Specializes in NICU.

We have also had a lot of multiples recently. About a week and a half ago, in a 3.5hour time period, we got 25 week twins, 29 week twins, and then 33 week twins. All from 0030-0400. I ended up admitting one of the 33weekers, even though I was never originally an admit assignment... that was not fun.

And I have recently come to the conclusion that all 6 of those babies are cursed... or something to that effect. Both of those 25 weekers were taken off of support in less than 12 hours of life - multiple chest tubes, codes, iNO and HFOV... not fun. One of those 29 weekers ended up with a chest tube (and still can't seem to stop re-accumulating his pneumo...). And one of those 33 weekers is the one I talked about in a previous post who got NEC and was taken off of support in

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Specializes in NICU.

We are getting overRUN with 23-weekers. Two sets of triplets, some twins, some singletons... did the stress of the holidays do something to people???

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Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

There was a shift a few years ago (in the Level III I used to work in), in a single shift, we had a singleton, twins, triplets and quads!! Try staffing for THAT!

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Specializes in NICU.
There was a shift a few years ago (in the Level III I used to work in), in a single shift, we had a singleton, twins, triplets and quads!! Try staffing for THAT!

No thanks!!!

I think I'm still recovering from that night that I had - and it was a week and a half ago! When I woke up the next afternoon... my feet STILL hurt!

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).

I hear ya... I signed up to work OT tomorrow, but I think I'll stay home and take a mental health break...

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Specializes in midwifery, NICU.

Guys, I'm sorry to say this..(and I may well be sorry FOR saying it out loud!!), we currently have 12 babies in our unit..with five staff on a shift!!! Only two ICU, (which I had) the rest are feeder/growers! have not known the unit to be so quiet in a long, long time. it makes it a very restful place, but we are all drawing straws..(hey, I lucked out again!!!), in not moving to paeds or L&D.

Give me the new admits, and the teeny weenies over moving to L&D anyday! Guess whos first back in in the morning!!!!;)

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Specializes in NICU.

We're full too but not over capacity as we are a lot of times. Last week we have 65-70 and we've been using anywhere from 30 to 35+ nurses. We have a lot of really sick kiddos too. Couple of weeks ago I counted 7 1:1s. Lots of really small micros too, 23-24 weekers. And lots of multiples too ...... we have a TON of twins right now.

It's funny how we're all over the country and yet the trends are about the same!

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