Hello

[Imafloat, BSN, RN]

Hi, I am a senior nursing student in the middle of my practicum at a level 3 NICU. I have learned so much in the short time I have been there. I love reading your message board, especially the sticky about why people love being NICU nurses. I hope to work in the NICU after graduation.

I guess I am a softy but I adore all of my patients. Most families don't bother me much, the one thing that does bother me is the families that visit once a week and criticize everything that you are doing during their visit, instead of discovering how wonderful their child is. The nurses tell me to not be bothered by it (which I am working on), those people just feel guilty and are trying to feel like they are doing something for their child. The babies with the infrequent family visits are usually my favorites although I tell all the patients they are my favorite.

Anyways, I just wanted to say hi!

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

It's hard not to have favorites - especially with the kiddos that just seem to have all the strikes against them already.

After spending a few months in the NICU I've decided that the infrequently-visiting-but-frequently-critical types fall into one of two possibilities:

1) They're really just scared, dealing with loss of control issues, etc and they'll eventually soften up if you manage to keep your cool.

or

2) They may just not be very smart or very educated, so you shouldn't let their opinions get you down anyway.

With that said, I do still bristle sometimes when we have a family that falls into this pattern.