Sun*shine

Congratulations on your interview. I'm an Adult Nurse who started in neonates last year. Are you a nurse in the UK? Someone on the forums suggested I read The Department of Health Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Services. It's from 2009 but gave me...

All your comments have been really intersting and helpful. Honestly it's so good to get people's insight into suction practice in different units. I feel more confident now with it, although I'll still be asking someone to stand by me until I feel re...

Hello. I'm really new to neonates and I'm loving it so far. My main concern is I'm underconfident when it comes to suctioning a Et tube. I know how to do it, but I struggle with when to do it, if I should use saline, how many times I should do go do...

Yikes Ah, so would 'sounding crunchy' (love that term btw) alone give cause for suction, or would you not go there until you've got other clinical features alongside it?

Thank you all for making me feel better about asking for help with suctioning. I felt like by now I should be able to do such a basic thing as this on my own. Reading your comments has helped me realise that suction is neither basic nor straightforwa...

I wish we had in-line suction. We don't have chest physios based on the unit, they'll only come if there is a real concern about an infant's respiratory state. Physios don't see ventilated babies as routine. Now I think about it I find this odd, beca...

Thanks for your replies :) Nurse4sale that's reassuring to know, if anyone offers to do it for me I leap for joy and let them. Not good for me in the long term. And I feel embarrassed asking for help now because I don't want anyone to think I'm incom...

That's an excellent idea Never thought of that because I don't think we stock them.

Interesting topic, thanks for bringing it up. Our unit does this, but not every baby with a CVC gets Nystatin, there are a set of risk factors that indiciate its use. We put 0.5ml down the NG and 0.5ml in the mouth. I feel that 0.5ml in the mouth of ...

Best of luck! I'm sure you'll love it. I just had my first week in NICU, and I've also got no previous experience. Although I can't be too helpful, one thing I can say is bring in a notebook to write things down in as you learn. I read mine back toda...

What a super topic. As an adult nurse due to start in NICU, literally the only thing I feel confident in is being able to care for the adults in the unit. I hope when I'm overwhelmed with all the learning and adapting that I don't lose sight of the c...

Excellent! Congratulations and very well done you.

Good Luck for tomorrow!

I have an interview soon for NICU Nurse. I'm an adult nurse with no nicu experience. I was wondering if anyone knows of any current challenges, research, or developments within the nicu setting that I can bring into my interview? Even if it is just s...

Thanks Raye! I'll add Bliss to my reading list. Are the current levels of care 1:2 hd and 1:4 sc, or is this a new aim? Will this mean less staff or more staff per infant? The unit I'm applying to is Level 2 and Level 3. It's a specialist centre and ...

I potentially have an ICU job offer (nursing cohort...just waiting to hear which ICU it'll be.) Does anyone know how long it takes to complete the necessary post-grad courses to be classed as a qualified critical care nurse? Ultimately I want to be...

Thank you for your advice It's so great that nicu welcome adult nurses.

XB9S me too haha . Gem, wow...thank you so much!! That reply blew me away. All this information is wonderful, and I'd never have found that on my own. Good luck with your masters. I'd love one day to do my masters in nicu. Best get the kettle on and...

Thank you for your reply. That's a stinker. I was hoping PICUs would welcome ICU Nurses and let them do the branch conversion course. I know NICUs accept adult nurse applicants with critical care experience, there were plenty when I qualified but the...

I'm just about to get my adult nursing qualification, but I really want to work as a child nurse. I'd LOVE to work in PICU. :redbeathe All the conversion courses i've found (and there are hardly any) are really expensive or need you to be employed al...

The final step after all that drama is seeing them return from xray with the tube now coiled around their hand.

Thank you MaryAnn. I did email her and she replied to say they'll be advertising for a Band 5 in a few weeks time. So good news! The odds are well stacked against me but I'm so pleased to hear they're finally putting jobs out :)

Just wondering if I could have your two cents I've checked nhs jobs every day for over a year waiting for a neonatal nurse post to come up at work. So far only one has and I was unsuccessful. I'm working as an adult nurse on an acute ward. I'm very ...

I'm just wondering if anyone has had experience of bridging programs into icu/nicu/other acute areas. I'd love to come to Oz on a temporary visa, and it'd be excellent if I could find a job that would kick start a career in either icu or nicu. Two bi...

Actually Queensland is top of my list!! But anywhere where the rugby is good will do :) I love how Oz seems to welcome international nurses with open arms. If I'm going all that way then then I'd be willing to stay for a few years, particulary when t...