Duscouraged OB nurse

Published

Just a little background... I'm a new nurse, working my first job on an OB unit. I've been here for 8 months now...

Ever have one of those days where you question everything you do?? Today is that day.

When I came on shift, I received report that my newborn was "grunting" but was given the impression that it wasn't so bad... Upon my initial assessment, I found the babe to be in mild respiratory distress so I called the Dr, got orders and went about my business...

Here's where the doubting comes into play....

It always seems like I find the "bad" babies... Am I looking for problems or making things out to be worse than what they are?? Anytime I bring a baby to the Special Care Nursery, I worry that maybe I've overreacted??

Then... My IV infiltrated. Only a couple hours after establishing it. Now I'm questioning my skills and I feel terrible that this poor baby's arm is swollen and sore.

Maybe it's just a bad day but I'm ready to throw in the towel and go back to working retail. How nurses stick it out day after day, year after year, I'll never know. Or perhaps others are cut out for it and I'm not??

Help! I'm drowning in my sorrows over here....

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Hey Hey, none of that!

You quickly recognized and responded to the wee one's resp problem - maybe preventing what could have been a catastrophe. You averted a more serious infiltration and managed to insert an IV into a teensy tiny vein. How in the world would you think any of this was bad?

You're their Guardian!! Rescuing your tiny patients before they develop more serious problems - so that they can become healthy enough to be restored to their families that love them. If we could ask their parents, they would agree - you're priceless! You're WonderNurse

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Better safe than sorry. Esp. with little ones. Im sure the parents of the infants appreciate you finding things others have overlooked.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I agree that you are a GREAT nurse to catch on so quickly to your patient's deteriorating! It says a lot about your assessment skills. As far as the IV, that's a mistake anyone can make. I'm excited to even get a successful stick on a baby!

Maybe you could also succeed in a higher-acuity environment based on your skills? When I was in nursing school I felt like I was always finding sick/going down patients; it got me interested in the ER, which is where I ended up working.

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