NICU VS. Newborn Nursery in your hospital?

aerorunner80, ADN, BSN, MSN, APRN · Sep 5, 2010

It seems as though the NICU and the "well baby" Newborn Nursery should have a close relationship and work well together, right? Not where I am at. I never know how I will get treated when I am bringing a baby to newborn nursery. Sometimes they are super nice, other times I literally stand there and am IGNORED until I finally have to say something.
They can't start IVs on babies per policy (so I am told) so we go and start their IVs, but if we bring a baby at a time that is "inconvenient" - WATCH OUT! I have literally been yelled at because they don't want/can't handle another baby. Guess what? If the baby is D/C from NI to be transferred to the nursery - its going - like it or not.
Anything similar in your hospital? Teams/groups of people who *should* be working well together but aren't??
Jenny

We had a recent incident of a mom over in L&D who did not want the baby. Our newborn nursery refused to take this perfectly healthy child. REDICULOUS!!!! :angthts::angthts::angthts::angthts::angthts:

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Sep 6, 2010

Your post really upsets me; I have had a baby in long term care and the way "burned out" nurses like your self act are really disturbing to the families. Myself or someone in my family would take care of our newborn as much as possible. However, new mothers and their families need sleep also. This is a profession that if you are not passionate about and compassionate for that you need to get out of immediately. Either take a vacation or quit this profession, please!

I am sorry that my post upset you. What you saw in written words (that I wrote years ago and had long since forgotten!) was not burnout. It was a quite human emotion called frustration, and a quite human action called venting. I vent here, primarily among fellow nurses, so I don't say things I'll regret later when dealing with (also very human) patients. Was the tone a bit harsh? Maybe. It was definitely harsher than I am in real life. But it wasn't directed at you or at any specific patient I've ever cared for.

I do invite you to come work twelve hours with me in the nursery, be charge nurse and responsible for anywhere from 30-50 babies, any of whom might at any given time decide to crash or have other issues. Thankfully, most don't, but there's no guarantee of that ever. My license and my livelihood depends on my handling it when they do - whether it's one a shift or three at a time. At any given time within the walls of the newborn nursery, there might be one to six (that's the record, we average 2-3) kids that need special care - learning to eat/grow, withdrawing from opiates (and might or might not be handling it well), kids weaning in the isolette, on antibiotics, or on a bilibed. On top of that, there are the usual kids whose parents need a break. I have no problem with parents who need sleep or a break, having been there myself....but I do have a problem when people drop their kids off with unreasonable expectations about what we can and can't do in there. Top this off with anywhere from zero (quite manageable :) ) to 19 newborn admissions (that's the current record) in a 12-hour shift, and I hope you can see why I (or someone else) might be prone to having a human reaction at the thought of one more baby (regardless of who brings him/her) in an already-full nursery and only two or three nurses (including myself) to handle it.