BBnurse34

Recently we had serveral patient care surveys returned where patient's parents indicated that they were pleased with the quality of nursing care that their newborns received but were uncomfortable because some of the nurses smelled like cigarettes. Instead of attacking the smokers (what they do on their breaks is their own business), we asked them for ideas for solving this patient satisfaction issue. Now they take turns buying Fabreeze to spritz on their uniforms after breaks, of course they were always washing their hands. Problem solved. No more complaints and everyone is happy.

Where I work we are getting tired of hearing "I HAVE to have Christmas off because I have small children" from the same people every year. Everybody wants Christmas off, we just need to accept the fact that everybody needs to take a turn and make the best of it. Small kids, big kids, old grandparents, small dogs.... it needs to be fair.

I can remember needing to call a weather station to get an accurate, current barometric pressure so I could figure the tubing compliance on an old vent.

Latex allergies usually take a while to develop. It took me three years. If you have a latex allergy, your ankles will be blotchy and itchie from the elastic on your socks.Also, your mouth may get itchie and iritated after eating tomato products, like salsa. It's really not that bad (exept for swimsuits). The hospital should have most items available in latex free materials.]

As far as injections and IVs go: You will be well trained before you do them on your own, and you will understand why the procedures are important for the babe's wellbeing. Then, after a while, you will enjoy doing them because you will know that you are good at them and can do it without inflicting much discomfort.

I am a newborn nursery nurse in Arizona. In fact, I am writing this as my 2 addicted newborns, newborn on antibiotics, and billi baby sleep :) I love working nights. We take great care of our patients and goof off and laugh all the time (no management on nights) Here the nursery nurse must be an RN. The "cat lab" for biology grossed me out, too. I took bio online and my lab was all point and click on the computer. If you want to get a headstart, you can probably take prerequesites through the community college and get highschool credit. You may feel that some of the procedures that you are required to do are scary, but remember that you are well trained and someone is usually available to help you in the beginning. Good luck

My first child wasa delivered my emergency C section secondary to abruption. My second child was delivered C section due to placenta previa. My third child was delivered VBAC with Pit and an epidural. It was the greatest experience of my life. I had felt like I had missed out on the other two. Even with a fourth degree laceration, the recovery was a piece of cake compared to the sections. I did have internal monitoring and a surgical suite was ready just in case. I have never regretted my decision to VBAC.

St. Joseph's in Phoenix offers nurse externships in many areas including L&D. They work part time during the school year and full time in the summer for about $11 an hour. You are required to work as an RN for them the same ammount of time that you were an extern. They offer lots of classes and free (actually you get paid) NCLEX reviews to nurse externs. As for the weekend issue, St Joe's went to a premium Baylor weekend plan. So everyone wants to work weekends. Most new hires will not work weekends. Other hospitals may have similar programs. Pools or registry will not utilize someone for L&D without experience. Email me if you need for info on woman and infant nursing in AZ

Ours do not lock.

Recently our couple care nurses have been running gent on newborns in the mother's room. They just bring in a syringe pump, set it to run over 30 min and leave. Does this seem like a safe practice?

Wow! thanks for the info. We never thought to consider armboards a restraint device. We check out IVs Q2, but the babes on the floor with their mothers are saline locked, so they only get checked when flushed or receiving a med

In our level two nursery isolettes and cribs must be 18 inches apart. Exept for the kids that are plugged into the wall, we just scoot the others around as needed

It is interesting to see that the couple is refusing to release the weight of the infant. Saying only that the baby weighs less than 13 pounds. 12 pounds 14 ounces is less than 13 pounds. The probable reason that a G7 P6 was able to labor all night, then go to two different hospitals is because of insufficient pelvis size to deliver that big baby. I would like to know other information: Mom's age (which the couple refuses to release) mom's blood pressures, how the fetal monitoring strip looked, and if mom had diabetes that resulted in large babies. In the end, it matters most that mom and baby are healthy... but what if....?

Our babies must be with a Banded individual. We advise mom to close the main door to her room, scoot the crib up to the bathroom, and shower with the bathroom door open. She also has the option of dropping the babe off at the nursery, but we subtly try to advise agains this because our nursery is a level II and it gets pretty crazy. Most moms would rather keep their babes with them once they learn that the nursery is for "sick babies"

Your friend should have whatever support people she wishes. She may want to take care to chose people that will support her wishes, even if they change (I have seen this many times) My 17 year old niece delivered at the hospital that I work at. Because her boyfriend was overseas in the Navy, her best friend (a flaming gay male) coached her. Nursing staff was very supportive. The only uncomfortable moment was when one nurse called her friend "daddy" he replied "Heck no, I am the baby's fairy godmother"

Like most people, I think this is very sad, but until you have walked a mile in the women's shoes, you just can't understand. If the TABs are unsettling to you, you may want to seek employment at a Catholic hospital.

The youngest new mother that I have ever seen was a 12 year old developmentaly delayed girl. What bothers me the most is, after the screaming of labor and delivery is over, the teenager's girlfriends come in to visit. The look in their eyes as they "ooh" and "awe" over the baby and the way the noted the "special attention" the new mother is getting makes me think that I will be seeing them very soon under the same circumstances. For some reason, teen motherhood has become "cool" at our inner city hospital in Phoenix.

AZ Law states than drug use in pregnancy is not child abuse Post #1 From the Az Republic 08/23/02 In 10 short days of life, a cuddly bundle of joy with a beautiful name turned into a crinkly bag of death. Anndreah Robertson's death was senseless and outrageous. To say that it shouldn't have happened doesn't do justice to the series of bad decisions that caused it. Anndreah's mother is a cocaine addict who admitted to smoking crack cocaine on the day of delivery. Her grandmother, who takes care of Anndreah's two small brothers and to whom Anndreah was entrusted, also smokes crack cocaine. "The use of cocaine or drugs is not in itself abuse," says Anna Arnold, the assistant director of the division of Children, Youth and Families in the Department of Economic Security. Abuse, she says, is tied to a child's condition, for example, how well-fed and clothed the child is and whether there's physical abuse. Anndreah's mother, Demitres Robertson, is in jail without bond, accused of murder and two counts of child abuse - and pregnant again. Anndreah's grandmother, Lillian Butler, is charged with two counts of child abuse. St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center followed procedure and kept Anndreah for three days to cleanse her system of cocaine. They notified Child Protective Services. And they leveled with Anndreah's mother: The baby would die if she were exposed to cocaine again. She was, and she did. An autopsy concluded that Anndreah died of complications from cocaine exposure and dehydration. The pathologist ruled her death a homicide. A witness alleges that Demitres Robertson and Butler smoked "large quantities of cocaine together" in the presence of Anndreah. This was a beautiful, healthy baby at one time, that actually died of NEC due to exposure to second hand crack. I am just sick over it. In Az, where we do not consider inutero drug use child abuse, what can we do to protect out patients. Would prosecuting these addict mothers result in more "garbage can babies"? How can we convince child protective services that they are not "saving" a baby by placing him with the druggie mother's mother. Meticulous charting was done on this child, but it didn't help

If the mother has had less than 5 prenatal visits, has a history of drug abuse, has track marks, has had an abruption, or more than 2 STDS we do both meconium drug screen and urine drug screen. The MDS shows use in the second half of pregnancy and the UDS shows use 72 hours prior to delivery. I tell the mothers that because of (whatever her case) we are screening the babe because we want to give them both help if they need it. Most mom's will let you know that to expect in the screenings. CPS is notified of positive results. The babe stays in our nursery for 72 hours to watch for neonatal abstinence syndrome. CPS follows up with the parents and the mother must take CPR before the child is released after CPS approval.

I would never bottle feed a babe without the mother's consent.. But, If mom wants the tyke in the nursery overnight she needs to rethink her priorities. Some get very annoyed when we return a screaming babe to them 30 minutes later. Unless I begin lactating, the breastfed babes need to stay with the mom (thats why its called couplet care) As for nursery borders (mom has been discharged) They feed Q3 if less than six pounds or under phototherapy. Others feed Q4. Unless the mother is willing to stay camped out in the nursery all night, I have no choice but to bottlefeed. I have listened to many screaming babies because the mother shows up late and won't allow any bottles and refuses to pump. I have also had to start an IV and push D5 on a baby with a bloodglucose of 27 that was too lethargic to nurse because the mother refused to allow formula. I love and support breastfeeding, but sometimes I fear that the mother's are provided with scare techniques to make them loath the very idea of supplementing.

We pass off report sheets. It makes for a much faster change of shift

What does he want to do?

I also wear gloves to start IVs, draw blood, bathe new babies..ect. Some nurses get the idea that because they are babies they don't have coodies.. guess again.

A registry nurse worked in our OB unit last week. Her name was listed on her badge as Lollie Labia

Only two things get to me 1) the sound of someone vomiting, the sight and smell are no biggee. 2) an extremely infected postpartum c-section incision. It reminded me of the smell of the month old raw chicken that my mom accidentaly left in a ice chest on the porch in the summer for two weeks after a camping trip.