SuperFlyRN

Those are great ideas! Thanks so much for the input :wink2:

I work with an OB/NICU nurse who is retiring this year after 38 years in our hospital and wanted something special to get her that she will love. She enjoys reading and gardening but I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a good book idea? I just can't think of any... Thanks

My dad was born during WWII and my grandma delivered him in a bomb shelter in North London. He was her first and she was terrified and did not know what was going on..my grampa had just moved down the shelter to check on someone and he came back and had a son. She said all she remembers is the explosions and screams from outside and here she is delivering her child. My dad assisted with the birth of his brother 3 years later athome.....

Our hospital recently went acute care only, meaning, no RPN's (same as LPN here in Canada). I say go straight for RN if you can. More possibilities. Ever since we went to a Birthing Center type facility where the staff is all cross-training, our staff is dropping off like flies.

We are a rooming-in facility-completely. If mom is critical, babe goes to NICU (unfortunately, but not with the sick babies). In the rare instance that we take a baby to be watched at the desk, they are bottle-feeders. It is detrimental to mom in the long run if she is breastfeeding and missing babes "cues". Plus our unit is H-U-G-E and to run a baby down the hall every q1-1 and a half hours is not feasable.

Our unit started Emergency Drills about one year ago and they are fabulous! They are spontaneous and very realistic and, IMO, a very effective teaching and training tool. Our program director started the drills after a very unfortuante DIC a couple years ago.

I totally agree. Part of my job is to help teach the new parents. In our facility we do not even HAVE a nursery. Every baby rooms-in and total care is taken by the new parents. When they are given their pre-natal tours they are explained that it is expected that a support person stay (pref. Dad) to assist the new mom. We have had babies that were taken out for the night and they are literally left at the desk (as long as a nurse is there we can do this, but with our current shortage it is hard-emergency bell goes off and someone has to stay behind with the baby so we try to discourage this) and then the mom wants to go home and she is asking a million and one questions that had her baby been in her care she would have picked up on some of those "cues". My "normal" PP assignment when I work PP is 4-5 moms and 4-5 babies. If I take even one of those babies and I am tied up with a patient, someone at the desk (that has a very similiar assignment) is left to care for "my" baby. It just does not work in our facility unfortunately. We have had patients request to baby be removed from the room and mom and dad or mom and grandma are both staying, I don't see the logic in this. They are with us such a short time-24 hours for NSVD and 60-72 hours for c/s-that every precious moment counts. We have not had a nursery in our hospital in six years.

Yup. We are in a union and they are required to call everyone. (otherwise it can be grieved). I work permanent nights and it irritates me to get called on my day off-especially at that unGodly hour!

I find that happens in every workplace as well, but I am especially noticing it recently. I work with a total lazy-do-the-bare-minimum nurse who does just enough to get by. I work in a Birthing Center and it is an always changing environment and this nurse does her Q-whatever-vitals and assessment and otherwise never sets foot in the patients room. I don't know how she does heath-teaching, breastfeeding support or whatever because she is always at the desk. She also has a student working with her and lets her do everything without checking up on her. I always get the "well we gave YOU the laboring patient and PP assignment because I know you can handle it". I like that they feel I am competent but sometimes it gets a bit much. Plus because I am often the charge nurse on my shift I am always bombarded with questions and sometime it gets overwhelming and that other chiqita gets off with doing the basics to get to the end of the shift. This is a nurse that will call every unit (our unit is huge and comprised of five sub-units), do an ALL-PAGE in the middle of the night because one of my patients waaay on the other wing needs pain meds! We have a Pyxis and all have codes...put the People magazine down and go do it!:angryfire

I've worked rotating for the first three years (two weeks days/two weeks nights) than we did a two and two for a while (two days than two nights than five off). Now I am strictly 12 hour nights and it is mainly because of childcare. My dh works long hours and I find I see more of my 5 year old son than if I worked 12 hour days. But I do prefer nights-I function better, not as miserable, you know. I work L&D so there is not a lot of "down time" (as many civilians seem to think!) as a lot of babies are born at night and as any new mom can attest-not a lot of newborns sleep at night either!! We book inductions round the clock so it is quite busy.

I want NO ONE "managing" me when they have not even experienced bedside nursing themselves because it is too "icky" or whatnot. Try pharmacy. I was a Pharmacist for years before I returned to be an RN-big difference in pay (and cleanliness) but I am a lOT happier

While I have nothing constructive to add except I think that it is a wonderful idea. Unfortunately I cannot think how to execute this but, wow, I know in our hospital this would be greatly appreciated. Nothing could be worse than on a horribly busy shift and you are trying to tend to everyone adequately and there is this laboring mom that needs all the support she can get-laboring and beyond. A very thoughtful, and much needed service. Good luck.

Just last night I had a 23-year-old frequent flyer (she was discharged 2 days ago with her 4th child) call 911 to say "my baby's not eating"-he wasn't, because she ran out of the "free formula" that we gave her. So she came in via ambulance to get more:rolleyes: ...than stopped to visit a friend that just delivered, ate her food tray and than asked how she goes about getting home?!! sigh

Uggggh! That makes me soooo glad that we don't have a nursery anymore although we somehow still get coerced into "watching" ppls babys at the desk-so much for rooming in. I love these ppl that try to force THEIR schedule on their newborn-I sometimes say to them-"did you give your daughter a copy of her feeding schedule so she knows when she should be hungry or....?"..Jeez.

In our hospital it is L&D is ALWAYS 1:1, even if that patient is long, thick and closed and intact and basically sleeping. PP our guidelines are four couplets per RN but, if necessary, we CAN go to five couplets per RN. My last shift I worked we were extemely short staffed and had 25 couplets to 4 RN's and we had to do some creative scheduling and use NICU to help with a 10 baby assignment and and the PP RN takes 10 moms. Yuck