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Discussion

Got asked to primary!!

I know to some of you this is not a big deal but for me it is!

I took care of this baby in the first few days of it's life and really made a connection with the family. The story of how the baby came to be so early is remarkable. Mom was in a rollover accident, brought into our trauma room and had to have a stat c-section because she abrupted. Just blows my mind!

Anyway, there was just something about this family that made me fall in love. I felt like I went above and beyond for them in little ways such as letting them hold for the first time and giving them privacy screens so that they can bond with their baby. I tried as hard as I could to empower them as well. I can't imagine having my child in the NICU and feeling powerless. I felt that giving them a sense of control would help ease some of the anxiety and stress they are feeling so I would constantly ask them "What do YOU think?" "what would you like to see?", stuff like that.

So I go into work yesterday and stopped by to see how the baby was doing. Later in the day I saw mom and dad come in so I said hi to them and mom asked me if I would be a primary nurse for their baby! I was thrilled!

I had to kindly decline because I am in orientation. I still have another month before I am on my own. I told them that if I weren't in orientation, I would be more than happy to do that for them.

I'm just amazed that I got asked to do this on orientation! I was very up front with them when they asked about me and my experience. I didn't hide anything and explained to them why my preceptor was with me and helping me out.

If they are still there when I get off orientation, I'm seriously considering taking them on.

That is why I feel it's such a huge thing for me! I just can't believe this happened! I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen until I had a good year or so under my belt.

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    That is wonderful, making connections is so special. I am not one of those touchy-feely types but I have made special connections with a few through the years. Strangely enough, sometimes it is with some of those difficult "high maintenance" types. Sometimes personalities just click.

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    I'm so happy for you. What a nice confidence booster too. Seems like they could really feel your sincere care for them and their baby. You have a wonderful career ahead of you!!!

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    That is great to be asked. But on the other hand, if you are a new grad, I would think about it more carefully...if you tie yourself to that patient as a primary, you may miss out on learning opportunities that arise in the unit. Where I work, the preceptor group has set guidelines that new people cannot take a primary until they have been there a year. This way they are free to take other assignments and still mentor with another nurse if a big thing comes in. Just a little food for thought :)

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    Congrats!! I love the connections you can make with the families in the NICU, it's part of the reason why I wanted so badly to work in that unit. Take pride and joy in the fact that you're doing well, but I agree with BittyBabyGrower. It might be better to keep yourself open to future cases.

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    Congratulations! It really is great when you make a connection with a family and they come to trust you! It's really a fantastic feeling.

    I do agree with bittybabygrower though-if you are soon to be fresh off orientation, don't focus on primary care of one infant. Explore other options around the unit, get your bearings down completely and ask to care for that infant once/week so you can keep in touch but not miss out on other experiences.

    congrats on your new job and enjoy :)

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    • Author
    That is great to be asked. But on the other hand, if you are a new grad, I would think about it more carefully...if you tie yourself to that patient as a primary, you may miss out on learning opportunities that arise in the unit. Where I work, the preceptor group has set guidelines that new people cannot take a primary until they have been there a year. This way they are free to take other assignments and still mentor with another nurse if a big thing comes in. Just a little food for thought :)

    I agree with what you are saying. That's why I didn't say that I would take them on for sure. I have to weigh my options. As of now, I'm probably not going to take them on becasue I need the experience with the more sick ones.

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    It's always wonderful to make those connections between the nurse and a baby and his family. I love doing primary nursing because I can get to know the baby very closely and follow her recovery, being aware of all the complexities of her care and what issues affect her. And the wonderfulness of being able to hold her once she is bigger after caring for such a tiny infant on a vent.

    In my unit, however, we were not allowed to do primary nursing until we had been there for 6 months to a year. I know because I wanted to primary a baby right away and was told that I needed more experience with a wide range of infants.

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