cshell1964

Has anybody changed their visiting policy in the NiCU because of the recent influx of Enterovirus 68? We have had several suspected cases in our area and I am concerned for our patients.

Wayne State University, Detroit, MI

I think we are hiring @ St John Hospital in Detroit. If we aren't right this minute we do hire often. Have you applied here.

If you have a fax # I will send you a copy of ours. It works great after many revisions.

I am just starting the NNP program at Wayne State this fall. Does anybody know the best places to be an NNP in the Detroit area? I have heard that a few hospitals do not treat their NNPs well.

According to NRP if you are coding in the delivery room, the code should be called after 10 minutes if there is no improvement or response to resusitation efforts.

I am pretty good at IV starts. (one of the "experts" people call). I take out the stylet as soon as I get a flash of blood, flush the catheter, then advance. Good luck!

Yes, always with a glass ampule!

We do always get consent for bereavement photos. We do them with a digital camera.

Oh my gosh, nsg shortage perhaps you are the one who should run!!! If you are that unhappy by all means get out of the profession!!! I for one cannot think of anything else I would rather be doing! I have worked in NICU at the same hospital for 20 years and I love it. Of course some days are busy, but I love what I am doing. I feel that I am in a great profession. I have the respect of the doctors and other professionals that I work with and nobody "barks orders" at me! We should not discourage people from joining our profession at all. Nursing provides a stable, decent income that is pretty reliable in these uncertain economic times. It also allows us to work flexible hours so that we have more time for our families or other pursuits. It also allows us to do what (some of us) love, caring for others!

Congratulations Gompers!!! She is really an exceptionally beautiful baby!!! And we see a lot of babies!

Gompers, I'm glad to see you are back and posting away! Hope everything went well. Did you have a boy or girl?

We only ask that parents step out for 1/2 hr twice a day so we can give report. Our manager has talked about not even asking that. The way our unit is set up there is no way to gine a confidential report with parents in the room. They could be as close as 2 ft away!!! I'm very concerned about this. Any suggestions?

Hi. I work in NICU. We hire RN's with adult critical care experience. You would have a long orientation to NICU when you start. I don't really know how helpful reading would be. Nothing like getting in there and doing what we do.

We have PCT's (Pt care tech) and SNT's (student nurse tech) in our level 3 NICU. PCT's do unit secretary duties, stock, clean equip, and may assist with VS and basic pt care. SNT's take a phase 2 (intermediate care) assignment and her meds are covered by an RN

About Oprah.... She has never done a show on nurses!!! I think she should havwe some NICU nurses on her "favorite things" show. We have all been emailing her at work but no response. Come on Oprah!!! We work as hard as teachers and no summers/ holidays off!!!

Mead Johnson supplies us with copies of Neofax every year. We have them for use in the unit and every new nurse gets one. Maybe you can get some from your formula rep.

We use the Neotech bridges. They are so nice. They don't really come off with humidity (but they do get kind of "gummy"). They are a lot kinder to preemie skin than tape too.

Some babies just cannot tolerate being held during feedings! The original post did not say the baby was kangarood , just held with interaction from grandparents, siblings, etc. Kangaroing may have been better tolerated in a quiet, dark environment. We do not generally hold our babies during gavage feedings. We use 5 fr ng tubes and the feedings usually take 20 min - half hour to go in. Who has that kind of time!!! Also if the baby is that fragile, I would save holding time for parents only and let that baby rest while parents are not there.

We used to do everybody every 4 hours at 10-2-6. That was a looong time ago. Now mos kids that eat are either every 3 hrs or on cue-based feedings where they eat every 2 1/2 - 5 hrs when they wake up and act hungry. Schedules vary now too. It just starts whenever the first feeding was. NPO babies are done every 4 hrs, usually 8-12-4, but we can change the times to make it more convenient.

Come to Michigan!!!! We never seem to have enough nurses. You can pretty much work whereever you want with loan forgiveness, tuition reimbursement, etc.

I would have to say that almost every day is a good day at work!!! I love my job. I have worked in the same NICU for 19 yrs. I feel lucky to have a job that I enjoy that pays pretty well. Especially in todays economic climate with so many out of work or fearful of losing there jobs. Some days are busier than others but I enjoy being busy and when I'm not it gives me a chance to chat with the people I work with.

Congratulations!!! You made me remember how exciting it was 20 years ago when I graduated! I still think how lucky I am to have a job I love. NICU is the very best place in the world to work!!!

We just apply it anyways. It is easier to just do it since it is ordered. We do not reapply after the eyes have opened. I guess all the germs are long gone by that time.

Is your NICU co-bedding twins? I volunteered to work on initiating co-bedding in our level 3 NICU but now I'm not so sure it is really a good idea. NANN does not support co-bedding and neither does the AAP. Any ideas or opinions you have would be appreciated. It seems we would be doing itjust to make parents happy but if it is actually dangerous I want no part of it.