Mimi2RN

I had shingles at age 13. It affected the left side of my face, from my temple to my nose, and in my sinuses. I broke out on the last day of school for Summer vacation. I have been told by my doctor that I should get the Shingrix vaccine. It’s expensive and not covered by Medicare, so I’ve been checking at Costco. Finally they have some in stock, so It’s time to get it, I don’t want to take the chance of getting shingles again!

I retired about 3 1/2 years ago at age 70. I had worked for the previous 20 years as a NICU RN, the last few years as charge nurse. My departments was changing, partly due to some poor management decisions, staff were leaving, some to retirement and others to different departments or hospitals. For me, it was the right time, as my husband had Parkinson's Disease and although he was still active, he needed more assistance. He passed away 15 months ago, after spending a few weeks in assisted living, on hospice. I have a couple of grandchildren, unfortunately several hours drive away. Over the years I have driven many miles to babysit, but now they are in their teens, and i don't see them as much. I am now a foster mom to several kittens, as I'm working with a local rescue group. My own older cats are very tolerant of their rowdy foster siblings, and are teaching them some manners. It's amazing how busy you can be when you retire! I don't know how I had time to work.

Congratulations! With your background you should do well. I retired this year at the age of 70. I enjoyed my work, but the politics were getting to me. I've been a NICU RN for years, but management issues and excessive educational requirements, meaning that give your life and your spare time too, finally made a difference. Unfortunately, many of our qualified staff with years of experience have quit, too. That leaves a department with many sick babies and brand new NICU nurses. Some of them will be excellent nurses eventually, but they don't have the right staff to back them up anymore. Management decisions are not always for the good of the unit! At my age, it's time for time off. I have a husband with health issues, and although I have a working licence for the next two years, I probably won't use it. Good luck and enjoy your new job!

The local hospital usually hired a couple of nursing students as CNA's after our first quarter. It was good experience for me, I already had worked there as a volunteer for a couple of years. Unfortunately, that hospital and the other two within 20 miles NEVER hired new grads! They all wanted you to go someplace else, work for a year or so, and then re-apply.

We close from 05-07 and 17-19. It's a small nursery and gets very crowded. Unfortunately, there are HIPPA issues if family members stay through report. It's not so much family members hearing about their baby, but there is a lot of interest in everything else that's going on. Of course there are times when we have new admissions with a parent or significant other at the bedside, and they are allowed to stay as they usually want to see what is going on with their baby.

I retired in June at the age of 70. I graduated from nursing school in 1986, did a stint on med/surg, moved to Peds and when management decided we didn't need a Peds unit or dedicated Peds nurses we decided it was time to relocate.My Peds experience with neonates was very useful as I found a position in a small NICU. At first, we had the local Pediatricians taking care of their own NICU babies, and any really sick ones were transferred out. That has really changed, we still send some babies out, but they have to have major issues, including the need for surgery. Our nurses have been up to the challenge, and with Neonatologists and hospitalists we have had a thriving unit. Unfortunately, there have been management issues, and it was a good time to leave. I do miss working, and my co-workers, but I don't miss the garbage. Anyway, I have enjoyed having time to do whatever comes up. At this point, I have a husband with health issues, so I go with him to most of his drs appointments. We have scheduled several trips, including a Road Scholar one next month. If you haven't heard of them, they used to be called Elderhostel. There is an educational component to their trips, they cater to adults over the age of 50. Also you can take a granddchild on a intergenerational trip. I did that a week after I retired with my 10 yr old granddaughter, it was great fun for both of us. I realize that many people have financial issues after retiring, at this point we are fine. I have kept my license active, so if I feel the need I could do some work per diem. I could do volunteer work, but at this point that's not happening. I'm still on one board, and that's enough for me. I'm just hoping my husband stays healthy enough to be active for a few more years.

We use Tegaderm or Veniguards, with or without armboards. I get very irritated when I find an IV with the insertion site covered with tape!

We draw our own labs, line, venous or heelstick. We also have a Gem for blood gases. Some of our staff do art sticks if need be.

How things do change! This was started in 2006, and next year, certification is going to be mandatory in our NICU. That is the joy of becoming a Magnet hospital. No, there won't be any increase in pay.

I use NSO, Still less than $99 a year. There are other companies, too.

We don't cup, syringe or finger feed in our NICU. You don't learn anything about a baby, maybe he's not breast feeding because he's sick? That happened to us, we had the educator showing us how well cup feeding worked, but when she tried to demonstrate he didn't co-operate. For good reason, which we found out the next day. Good job he wasn't sent home!

We don't since we no longer have Multivits in the TPN.

I have had my own coverage since I became an RN. I've never had to use it and hope I never will. Would you trust that the hospital you work for now would cover you for an incident at your previous place of employment? I think not. When I retire, should I keep my coverage? Nobody else will be looking out for me!

We have to have at least one on the baby, the other can be taped to the bed. Those bands are frequently cut off for IV restarts, but can be repaired and replaced. The hospital arm band stays attached to the sheet that it prints on, and that gets taped to the bed. That's the one that gets scanned for meds and PCX checks. We only use Hugs tags on babies in Couplet Care who are outside of our locked unit.

First of all, stop feeding when her sats start to drop. if she doesn't recover quickly, but keeps on dropping, then CPAP or PPV would be appropriate. To me, any baby that desats like that with feedings even when paced is getting tired. At that point gavage feeding is necessary. There is no point in wearing her out. We do cue-based feedings, and this little one is telling you something. Try side-lying for feedings, sometimes they will feed better in that position. At times, we do use supplemental O2 during feedings, too.