Education ideas needed please :)

BrandNewBabyNurse · Aug 31, 2016

As a very new grad NICU nurse myself (only about 3mo so far) one topic definitely has come to mind. Some type of teaching on handling cases where the patient is dealing with an incompatible with life diagnosis, or has multiple inevitably fatal anomalies would be very helpful. While these patients don't always require much complex hands on care, it can be a delicate balance in the social scenario. The first time I had one of these patients, I really relied on my preceptor to guide me on what was OK to say to the parents in the presence of many other family members, and also what was OK to say to the parents regarding things that were covered in rounds but may not have been relayed to them from the provider team yet. The family would often ask questions that I potentially knew the answers to following my conversations with providers, but I was very nervous about overstepping and saying something I shouldn't have or speaking too soon. I feel like teaching sessions of this nature often focus heavily on therapeutic communication in times of distress, which though very important, doesn't help the new nurse learn what is and is not OK to say/discuss in different potentially complex situations. Hope all this rambling makes sense somehow! :)

BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN · Aug 31, 2016

Chest tube set up and care, external shunts (ventriculostomy), golden hour care.

rnkaytee · Aug 31, 2016

Golden Hour care and developmental care/positioning.

NICUNurseEliz · Sep 1, 2016

Ventilator types and modes.

Nutrition - TPN and formula/breastmilk.

Sepsis in the neonate.

IVH/PVL/HIE and other brain issues.

NEC/surgical belly issues.

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Sep 1, 2016

Developmental care and integrated family centered care.

Developmental care was written into all my unit's standards when I started but never specifically addressed as to what it meant. "Just be gentle and give them boundaries". It was years later I started reading up on it and was able to understand how all the parts fit together but there wasn't really any formal education.

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Sep 1, 2016

Developmentally-appropriate care

IVH-preventive care

NAS Kiddos: scoring with video examples (we watched these in my new grad program), NAS-specific soothing techniques, and working with NAS parents (personally, my biggest source of burnout my first year on the job)

Social Media! Especially in NICU/peds compared to adults, I think it's pretty common for nurses to friend their patients' parents online. I've seen some unit drama arise when nurses posed for photos with their patients in the NICU, and then were tagged by patients' parents. This would also be a good opportunity to clarify your hospital policy.

Setting up and turning on the breast pump (no, seriously).

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Sep 1, 2016

Developmentally-appropriate care
IVH-preventive care
NAS Kiddos: scoring with video examples (we watched these in my new grad program), NAS-specific soothing techniques, and working with NAS parents (personally, my biggest source of burnout my first year on the job)
Social Media! Especially in NICU/peds compared to adults, I think it's pretty common for nurses to friend their patients' parents online. I've seen some unit drama arise when nurses posed for photos with their patients in the NICU, and then were tagged by patients' parents. This would also be a good opportunity to clarify your hospital policy.
Setting up and turning on the breast pump (no, seriously).

Theses are all amazing suggestions.

For NAS-Use a video example and have the learners score the infant. One of the biggest challenges in our unit has been differences in the way (and WHEN) the infant is scored. Do I count hiccoughing/vomiting/tachypnea (take your pick of symptoms) if it's been happening intermittently through the day but not at the instant I score? Inter-rater reliability is a huge problem.

Social media . . . this is an ongoing battle and I think part of the problem is that leadership isn't realistic about what is going on out there. March of Dimes gave a great presentation on use of social media for NICU nurses at the NANN conference last year, they may have materials you can use.

Setting up and turning on the breast pump--Funny, but not! I think this is where there is an unrecognized prejudice to nurses who have never lactated and pumped. Sure, a lot of them have, but some haven't and where exactly were we supposed to get this information? I finally had a mom show me.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Sep 1, 2016

Congenital Heart Defects (aka the thousand and one ways you can be born with a jacked up heart)

Pulmonary Hypertension

KRVRN, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2016

How's your breastfeeding lecture? I wish I had gitten better info. When I started we got a lecture on "breastfeeding" but it mostly about the benefits of it, composition of the milk, and lactogenesis something or other. There wasn't much on how to actually get a baby latched on. The breast in one hand and baby's head in the other stuff. I think a video of a real newborn latched and eagerly nursing instaed of the line drawing cartoon figure of what a latch looks like. I mean if you've never seen a baby doing it right you won't know that a snoozing newborn lazily mouthing mom's breast isn't really eating.

Calalilynurse · Jan 8, 2017

Our hospital offers general newborn assessment classes, STABLE, and nrp. Breastfeeding, how to use a breast pump, and social media like a previous poster said. Common cardiac issues like PDA, PFOs. Blood gases and vent settings.