More new NICU questions!

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Specializes in OBGYN, Neonatal.

Hi ya'll, its your friendly neighborhood new NICU nurse...;)

I know you guys have been very supportive of me and I thank you for that, you guys and gals are AWESOME nurses! ...so more questions - how long can I expect to feel "cloudy"...for example, I had the same assignment today as yesterday and yet I still second guess myself many times over how I do things. Probably a good thing though when it comes to meds...I run through in my mind what needs to be done and then run it through again and then do it. Sometimes I will verbalize it too just to make sure I"m on the right track.

Also, how about things like hanging fluids...Ok stuff we should all know from nursing school but I'm really starting to think that I learned diddly in nursing school (YIKES). Anyway - I had to work my way through the fog to figure out what pieces I needed for the line (the tubing, connectors, etc.) and then try and get it all hooked up and it was sterile b/c it was going to a PICC Line. So then I'm being so cautious and worried about keeping sterile, I swear I make myself so nervous! So it takes me twice as long to do things as I think it should b/c of all the steps and making sure I'm doing it right and asking questions, etc. So I guess the point to this long rambling is...is there a magic number of times you do something before it sticks?

I see all these nurses of all ages, just working through their day, doing great, knowing whats what, can do things like boom bam bing and I'm wondering will I everrrrrrrrrrrrrr feel that way? :):) :chair:

I love learning about the various things and I am doing well with the actual patient care...its the other routines, procedures, supplies, etc. that I have such a time with :):) Again its only my 3rd week on the unit and about 6th or 8th (somewhere in there) shift so I know its still early in the game :):) :monkeydance:

PS - Is it crazy that I am hearing monitor alarms tonight? I worked 12 yesterday and today...nothing unusual but for some reason, its tonight that I'm hearing alarms LOL! :trout:

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Specializes in NICU, CVICU.

Everything that you said is normal, that's why we get more than 3 weeks of orientation. I wish there was a magic number to give you, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Try not to stress over it, the more you do things the faster and more comfortable you will become and before you know, things will be second nature and you'll be the nurse that the new grads are watching.

PS- hearing the alarms is normal, the thing that I hate is waking up at home and thinking that I slept through all of my feeds!

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The alarm thing will drive you nuts on the unit, and then drive you crazy at home because you still hear them!!! Hang in there. I just finished my 12 wk internship about 2 weeks ago, and I get behind and second guess myself a lot.

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You are doing great, remember to be gentle on yourself. I can set up a safety care by myself, but that is about it. Our PCTs set up all of our lines for us. I am a couple of months from finishing my first year of NICU nursing and I am just getting to the point where I can get through the day efficiently. There is a first year of nursing forum for a reason, the first year is like no other. You are doing fine. I hear alarms when I am not at work sometimes too.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Psych.

Oh, yes... I hear alarms in the car on the way home, even in the grocery store!

I just hope my confidence increases soon! There is so much to learn in the NICU!

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Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

Your questions remind me of a "NICU moment" I once had.

I was a new grad, just off orientation, and giving report to an experienced (and very nice) 3-11 shift nurse. I had received the baby's TPN, lipids, and UAC fluids near the end of my shift, but hadn't started hanging them yet, which was usually a day shift expectation. I was apologizing for my slowness, and offered to stay and hang the fluids. She politely decllined, told me to go finish my charting, and she would take care of the fluids. I returned to the bedside about 15 minutes later to make sure everything was "wrapped up", and saw that she already had the fluids hung! She did in 15 minutes what probably would have taken me over an hour! It dawned on me then that hanging fluids was no big deal for her, and she probably didn't mind doing it to get me out of her way.

Fast forward a few years. I'm working 3-11, and come in to get report from a newbie who is apologizing profusely for not having hung the baby's fluids before the end of her shift. I tell her not to worry, I'll do it, and she should go home. Fifteen mimutes later, it's done. I realized I'd become something of an expert.

You'll get there!

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Specializes in NICU.

You'll get there! It's fun to read this though because I was posting stuff like this just not that long ago!

And here I've been in the NICU for a year and a half ..... and I still feel "cloudy" at times!

But honestly after about almost a year I felt ok about most things. I don't remember exactly when it was, but something just clicked and I was like "hmmm, I feel like I know what I'm doing!". I think it was about the time a batch of new grads came through and they were asking ME tons of questions. And the fact that I was able to answer most of their questions, or at least knew of a resource to go find out the answers, gave me a ton of confidence in myself and my skills.

I used to ask people all the time when I would ever start feeling comfortable and almost everyone told me about a year after starting in the NICU (give or take a bit), but there's something about that 1 year mark.

But every now and then there's something that will happen, that I'm not familiar with, and then I feel incredibly stupid. But oh well, it's just part of it I guess!

I don't think there's a magic number to how many times you have to do things before you get faster and more confident ........ but definitely the more you do things the better you become. There are a ton of things that used to take me so long to do and now I can do them without really thinking about it. It just takes time and believe it or not (because I always doubted it when someone told me this), but YOU WILL GET THERE!! :)

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Specializes in L&D, QI, Public Health.
Your questions remind me of a "NICU moment" I once had.

I was a new grad, just off orientation, and giving report to an experienced (and very nice) 3-11 shift nurse. I had received the baby's TPN, lipids, and UAC fluids near the end of my shift, but hadn't started hanging them yet, which was usually a day shift expectation. I was apologizing for my slowness, and offered to stay and hang the fluids. She politely decllined, told me to go finish my charting, and she would take care of the fluids. I returned to the bedside about 15 minutes later to make sure everything was "wrapped up", and saw that she already had the fluids hung! She did in 15 minutes what probably would have taken me over an hour! It dawned on me then that hanging fluids was no big deal for her, and she probably didn't mind doing it to get me out of her way.

Fast forward a few years. I'm working 3-11, and come in to get report from a newbie who is apologizing profusely for not having hung the baby's fluids before the end of her shift. I tell her not to worry, I'll do it, and she should go home. Fifteen mimutes later, it's done. I realized I'd become something of an expert.

You'll get there!

Great story!

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Specializes in nicu.

Thanks for the post cherokeesummer. I am a newbie too in the NICU and feel exactly the way you do! I laughed because I would hear beeping when I came home after my shifts, and I would keep thinking it was my cellphone. :) I have been on orientation for about 12 weeks now and it definitely has become better, but I still feel so slow sometimes, especially if it's not a skill I have had much practice with. My hospital has a policies and procedure guideline on its website that I will review when I get home to help me remember the skills so I can be faster next time. I also have felt bad to leave extra things to do for the night shift because I took to long to finish my other tasks before the end of shift. Like you said, they don't make a big deal about it probably because it only takes them a fraction of time then what it takes us :) Good luck with orientation and hopefully we will be more efficient and confident NICU nurses soon! :)

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