Job Offer in Newborn Nursery
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hi!
just accepted a new rn/internship offer in the newborn nursery today!! i am excited and nervous!! i will mainly be working in nursery and then eventually cross-train on postpartum. i am very grateful for this opportunity! can anyone offer any advice, suggestions or any helpful information about this specialty as i prepare for my new job? any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
best of luck to those still searching for that new gn/rn position! i got mine 5 months after passing my rn-exam, your turn will come too!
thank you allnurses.com for any help you can provide!
happy holidays!
:candy:
Dec 21, '10I don't have any advice, but just want to give a big WOOOOOOHOOOOOO! and CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Dec 22, '10Hello. Congratulations on your new position! One of my jobs was working in a newborn nursery and I enjoyed it. You asked about "helpful information" regarding newborn nursery and post-partum care. One good start would be to ask your nursing supervisor for an opportunity to carefully read the policies and proceedures book which is probably on your unit. Medical facilities usually each have their "own approved way" of doing patient care. You could also ask your nursing supervisor to suggest neonatal nursing care books which he or she has found helpful for your facility. Another tip is to "stay on your toes" and constantly monitor your little newborn patients because they can suddenly have health changes and "go south"! Best wishes!
Dec 22, '10Moved to Ob/Gyn nursing
Tips:
1) Ask questions about any and everything. Ask your fellow nurses, ask the pediatricians to show you what they do and why, ask everyone you see. Don't be afraid to. I have learned some of my most valuable pieces of wisdom from doing that.
2) Know where to find policies/procedures for your nursery and read them whenever you get a chance.
3) Read up on normal newborn assessment - a peds or OB textbook should be a good place to start. Once you know inside and out what is normal or a normal variant, you will be a lot better at figuring out when something is amiss.
4) You will be doing lots of education on feeding - breast or bottle. So be prepared to help new parents with this. If not now, you'll be doing a lot of it on postpartum, so go ahead and educate yourself on it.
5) This goes for any kind of nursing. If there's a situation I didn't handle as well as I should have, or a clinical situation where I missed something that would've helped me, ask your colleagues for advice on what to do/not do next time. "How could I have handled that better?" "If a similar situation arises in the future, what would you like me to do differently?" "What else can I assess next time that will help me make a good catch?" This takes some pride-swallowing but you will learn a lot by doing it. The people around you will appreciate your willingness to take good advice. (Of course, if it's bad advice, chuck it.)
Nursery is one of the favorite parts of my job...I hope you like it too. Good luck!
Dec 22, '10Congratulations on your new job! I too am a nurse in the newborn nursery/post partum. At my hospital, we are trained simultaneously... Advice I can give you, is to definitely study up on lab values and just general newborn care and assessments.. Ask as many questions as possible.. Don't be afraid to ask the things that you may think are silly! Good luck to you!
Dec 22, '10 thank you so much everyone! i am so ready and so thrilled to start this new adventure!
thank you for all of the advice and support!
jadu1106, rn
Dec 23, '10Congratulations to you!!
My first nursing job after nursing school in 1991 was in a Well Baby Nursery too. About 6 months later our Well Baby Nursery combined with the Postpartum Unit to become a Mother-Baby Unit with couplet care and I loved all of it. I suspect you will too! I loved the teaching part helping parents learn baby care and things like that. After about 7 years I transferred to the NICU where I continue to be very happy and know that without a doubt my previous experience has helped me be a much better NICU nurse as I understand more about what the mother's are going through. Many of my postpartum patients were mom's who had babies in the NICU.
There are some absolutely wonderful suggestions here for you and I agree with them all. I will suggest a book for you though which I absolutely adore and think you will find very helpful in assessing newborns. You can get it on Amazon.com:
Physical Assessment of the Newborn: A Comprehensive Approach to the Art of Physical Exam, by Ellen P. Tappero & Mary Ellen Honeyfield, 4th Edition.
This is a excellent book in more ways than one. Great photos. Detailed explanations. Rationales and reasons why certain things are as they are. All kinds of great stuff! Very much worth the $54.00 price. Please check it out and consider using a bit of one of your first few paychecks to buy it. I feel sure you won't ever regret it.
Wishing you all the best and a career as rewarding as I have had so far! There are many supportive nurses here who are always able to help you as best we can if you ever have questions about anything.
Dec 23, '10Congrats!! Learn about breastfeeding for Post Partum!! That is a huge part of that job. As for newborn nursery, I would suggest finding a STABLE course in your area or checking to see if you hospital does them. It's a great resource--more for NICU, but a big help. I'm sure you'll be required to take NRP, so read up on that. Read up in your maternal/newborn school book if you still have it to refresh yourself on a full, newborn assessment. Your hospital should put you through a decent training/orientation. Absorb all you can, get in there an get your hands on training, don't be afraid of the babies. Best wishes!Dec 24, '10love_2_learn,
thank you for taking your time and writing your post! i know this will be a rewarding journey! i will definately take your suggestion and get that book: physical assessment of the newborn: a comprehensive approach to the art of physical exam, by ellen p. tappero & mary ellen honeyfield, 4th edition. every suggestion, advice and resource will help me tremendously become better and better at being a newborn nursery nurse. i thank you and everyone here at allnurses.com for the support and guidance! i am blessed to be a member of this wonderful website!
thank you and happy holidays!
Quote from love_2_learncongratulations to you!!
my first nursing job after nursing school in 1991 was in a well baby nursery too. about 6 months later our well baby nursery combined with the postpartum unit to become a mother-baby unit with couplet care and i loved all of it. i suspect you will too! i loved the teaching part helping parents learn baby care and things like that. after about 7 years i transferred to the nicu where i continue to be very happy and know that without a doubt my previous experience has helped me be a much better nicu nurse as i understand more about what the mother's are going through. many of my postpartum patients were mom's who had babies in the nicu.
there are some absolutely wonderful suggestions here for you and i agree with them all. i will suggest a book for you though which i absolutely adore and think you will find very helpful in assessing newborns. you can get it on amazon.com:
physical assessment of the newborn: a comprehensive approach to the art of physical exam, by ellen p. tappero & mary ellen honeyfield, 4th edition.
this is a excellent book in more ways than one. great photos. detailed explanations. rationales and reasons why certain things are as they are. all kinds of great stuff! very much worth the $54.00 price. please check it out and consider using a bit of one of your first few paychecks to buy it. i feel sure you won't ever regret it.
wishing you all the best and a career as rewarding as i have had so far! there are many supportive nurses here who are always able to help you as best we can if you ever have questions about anything.
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