New Grad

Specialties NICU

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I just graduated and will be working in the NICU. I have been looking for some tips on books i will need or books that will be helpful. Do they make NICU quick books (like the critical care quick books?)? I would appreciate any ideas or suggestions. Thanks, Christel

Welcome to NICU nursing!

Most NICUs I have worked in have copies of Neofax available. Some have compiled their own references. You should check with the NICU you will be working in. One book we use a lot that addresses nursing issues more than the Neofax does is:

Neonatal Medications & Nutrition: A Comprehensive Guide, 2nd Edition

Karin E. Zenk, PharmD, FASHP

with Jack H. Sills, MD and

Robin M. Koeppel, RNC, MS, CPNP

You can also look back a page or so for the post by t2000JC on 02-13-2002 04:28 PM for more reference ideas.

As for "quick books" - I haven't seen any, although many hospitals provide a laminated card with emergency drugs that you can keep in your pocket or hang with your badge. I made a laminated pocket card for our unit with common drip formulas. You're welcome to download it (it's a Word document, so you need Word and it might not print correctly on your printer....) I print it on both sides of a piece of paper, cut them into 4 cards and laminate them. If you want to try, here's the address: http://pages.sbcglobal.net/hsgrammens/index.html Click on the link and hopefully the "open/save" dialog box will come up. If you decide to use it, make sure the formulas we use are OK in your facility - different places have different ways of doing things.

Good luck!

Congratulations on your graduation and new job!!!

Specializes in NICU.

Hi! I asked this same question about six months ago, when I graduated. ;>P Ahh, newbies. I feel like a pro already. (Okay, not really...but I feel like I won't kill anyone now, so that's a start!) Our unit uses the Neofax, which is a drug book specifically written with neonates in mind. Many, many units use this all over the place, but personally, I HATE IT. It is VERY concise, gives you little information, and honestly, as a new grad on a new unit, you need to be learning AS MUCH about these drugs as possible. The book mentioned above is EXCELLENT- I bought a copy on my own. It has lots and lots of additional information in it. I have never seen a quick ref book for NICU, but there are a number of textbooks that are excellent for you to be learning about various pathologies, etc. in the unit. One is Merenstein and Gardner (forgot the title- you could look it up on Amazon). Excellent, although I don't use this one. I and my unit use Neonatology by Gamella. It is not a nursing book, it is the book that all of our neonatal med students and residents use, and though it is directed at doctors, it is concise, clear, and thorough without droning. It can fit in a lab coat pocket easily and has lots and lots of helpful information in it. I LOVE THIS BOOK. These are the two most recommeded books, for good reason, but there are numerous books out there that you could use. Just go to amazon and do a search. Usually you can click on the books and read excerpts to see if it's in a format that you like before you buy it. Or go to the bookstore, order three or four of them, and when they come in, peruse all of them and pick the one you want. They don't charge you for that, and if you don't want them, they just put them on the shelf. One last thing that I did: I went to Barnes and Noble and found a book called 'Preemies' by Linden, Paroli, and Doron. It is not a textbook, I already had that, but it is a book written by a nurse, doctor, and an NP for PARENTS of preemies, explaining EVERYTHING you could possibly want to know about the NICU, including meds, equipment, staff, you name it. I wanted to read it from a parent's perspective so I could better benefit the families of my babies, and this was a choice I will ALWAYS recommend to anyone. It is in layman's terms, very simple to understand, and again, very thorough. It covers multiple gestation, well, EVERYTHING. It's really helped me to communicate with my parents and I get complimented all the time for my ability to connect with them and explain difficult procedures or pathologies in a way they can understand. Not to mention, as a new nurse, it helped me because I had no idea where to start, and it also broke it down for ME in a simple way. This book is an excellent start for a new NICU nurse, and also a great book to recommend to parents whose babies will be in NICU for any length of time. You could even use this book to develop new fact sheets and 'pamphlets' for the parents, like, 'So you're baby is on a vent...now what?' and 'NICU? What's that?' and 'Understanding Your Preemie: Non-verbal communication'. It's a great resource. About thirty bucks or so for the book. I swear to you you won't regret buying it at all. I would never recommend something to someone that I wouldn't want to spend my own money on, and in this case, it was money well spent in so many ways it's difficult to count. ;>P Good luck in your new job! Feel free to email me if you want to talk about it or if I can help in any way.

Nell & Kristi, Thanks for your suggestions! I'm just trying to prepare myself. It's going to be odd having different baselines in VS, labs, etc.. I almost feel that all a majority of what i learned in school will not be useful. I've always wanted to work in the NICU. I just figured that as a new grad I would not be hired . I'm silightly grateful of the nursing shortage d/t this. Thanks for the advice! Christel

Kristi, You may not have been doing NICU for very long, but you have "Pro" written all over you. I have been doing NICU for 15 years and because of your post, am going to buy "Neonatology" and "Premies". Thanks.

I would like to say congradulations! I think you will enjoy this rewarding area. As far as books you can't have too many! A quick reference

1. neoatal intensive care handbook 3rd edition Bouyd W. Goetzman/Richard P. Wennberg A mosby handbook

2. Handbook of Neonatal Intensive Care 4th edition Gerald B. Merenstein/ Sandra L. Gardner Mosby

3. Protocols in Neonatal Nursing Carole Kenner/ Stephanie Rockwern Amlung/ Andd Applewhite Flandermeyer

These certainly help me a great deal so many books! Good luck please keep us posted how you are doing! :-) Welcome to the NICU family.

Kristi,

I also bought the "preemies" book, and love it.. Very well written and worth the money

Kristi and Nell,

thanks for your book suggestions. I already own way to many, but find it difficult to read some of them. I ordered the med and nutrition book, the neonatology book and the preemie book. I'll let you know what I think when they arrive, but I'm sure I'll like them. thanks for your suggestions.

PS I had trouble purchasing the med book, not available at barnes and noble, and not available until Jan with an extra charge at Amazon. I found both the med book and the neonatology book for great prices at http://www.academyonline.org if you are a member.

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