FemmeRN

Working in the newborn admission nursery today...we had 14 delivered babies; 12 of them came between 0700 and 1300. It was myself and one other nurse. I'm not sure if it was a record, but it sure felt like one this morning! I'm blaming the Superbo...

In post partum women, at least, I've found that the key to finding the meatus is really just getting the vulvar/labial tissue out of the way. For me, the best way to do this is to pinch the thumb and index finger of my "dirty hand" together, and then...

Hi, I work on a mother/baby unit (about 45 postpartum beds; about 4500 deliveries/yr), we do couplet care and have a well-baby nursery that basically does admissions, and watches a few babies while mom naps/showers, etc. The nursery is staffed by so...

Thank you all for your replies! :) Klone...What I meant was the M/B and well baby nursery nurses at my hospital are only taught and tested on the material in chapters 1-4 of the NRP book. The L&D and NICU nurses complete the full course of infor...

My hospital does about 3500 deliveries/yr. We have 45 postpartum beds, with occasional overflow to the antepartum unit. We do couplet care. Each nurse has between six and ten patients, which usually means 3-5 couplets (but it varies, as we have mo...

I check the brachial reflex rather than patellar in women who've had an epidural, for the reason you cited. However, I just realized in reading your post, that I still check for clonus in the ankle by dorsiflexing the foot....did the article you read...

It might be too late for the one coming up next week, but if you go to PESI's website, there is often a position available to be teh "registration coordinator". You have to get there early, cover the registration table before the conference, sell any...

We do SCD's on all c/s patients. Our standard computer order is "SCD's--continue until discharge". So, according to our manager, if the patient is in the bed, the SCD's must be on. However, many of the doctors come around and tell the patients, oh...

We do couplet care also, but have an "admission nursery" staffed by one or two RN's, depending on the pt census. The nursery nurses admit and transition the babies for an hour or two. They also take care of babies that are retained if mom has been d/...

@ FDLink085...I took abnormal psych online from GPC, and it transferred to GSU without a problem. Good luck to you. GSU's program is great.

Hi all, I'm a new nurse working on a mother/baby floor. Our standard orders for post partum patients include Ibuprofen 800mg Q6H and also Percocet 5/325 Q4H prn for pain >/= 5/10. During my orientation, I've seen that some nurses will hold the Ibu...

Hi all, I've been reading about tools that are used to measure pt acuity and determine staffing needs on med/surg units, and I'm curious if anyone has seen or used a tool like this to staff a mother/baby unit? I realize there isn't the variablity o...

Audrey, I'm so glad you're feeling better, and I encourage you to stick with OB nursing, if that is where your heart lies. I'm a lesbian who recently graduated, and am working on a postpartum floor. I have had no problems. I was worried at first ...

lmt2000, The G stands for "gravida", which means pregnant; the P stands for "para", which means birth. Latin, I think. It's an abbreviated system we use to describe a women's history of pregnancies and births. So, with this child, the G4P4 means you...

Anthrogirl, First, congratulations on your pregnancy! Second, I'm so excited that you are interested in this topic, and hope you get some good input from this wonderful community. I'm new to nursing (graduated in May), but was raised by an anthropolo...

In the postpartum unit where I work, we've seen a big cut back in the hours for lactation consultants. We've also lost the ability to pay time & a half for people coming in to fill shifts when we're short staffed. There seems to be in an increa...

We also send them down to the pharmacy to be verified. When they come back, they either go in the patient specific bin in the Pyxis, or if the doctor orders "at the bedside", they can be kept in the patient's room for self-administration. This way ...

Hi all, Do you care about safe staffing, the nursing shortage, and nursing education in the state of Georgia? Come tell your elected representatives why these nursing issues are important for the health of all Georgians. Make your voice heard and he...

When I was 19, after having a laparoscopy, I woke up in the PACU screaming "HELP!!!! Something's got me, heeeeelllllllpppp!" Apparently it was the automatic blood pressure cuff. And, according to the nurse's report to my parents, I did it Q15m, wit...

Thanks so much for all your replies! My nurse's drug guide from school (Springhouse, 2006) says the max daily dose is 3200mg. We give 800mg Q6H, which hits that max. But most of our doctors send pts home with an Rx for the 2400mg you mentioned, eit...

On the postpartum floor where I work, we do C/S fundal checks: On admission from PACU, then Q1H x 4, then Q4H x 2, and then Q8H until advanced to "wellness care" (usually 24 h after delivery, unless there's a complication). Once on 'wellness care', ...

We are split into "holiday teams", and each of three teams works one major (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day) and one minor (Memorial, July 4th, Labor Day) holiday a year. The teams rotate each year. We are also individually required to work...

I totally understand how you feel, but hang in there! It is so hard to adjust from nursing school, where there is a right answer and a wrong answer (on the test at least!) to the real world, where everyone has their own opinion. I get told often du...

Hi, I'm a new grad nurse practicing in a state that doesn't require CEU's to maintain our licenses. I'm still in "study mode" from being in school, and enjoy learning so I find myself reading various articles that have the CEU quizzes at the end, an...

Congratulations reveriies!!!