mybabies

Hey! I am doing my research ahead of time, just to prepare. My husband has found out that we might be relocated to Fort Jackson. I am a NICU Level III nurse with 3+ years of experience. Any ideas of hospitals I could check into? Also, does anyone know how much money I could expect to make? Thanks for any advice.

not sure if this has been posted on here yet but i think it is funny! good pick me up after a long shift. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg0w2bj7yau

I discovered I wanted to do NICU when I did an extern over the summer while I was in nursing school. I would recommend since you are just starting out to see if you can extern in these two areas. Or at the very least be a tech or secretary in the area. I have also found that many hospitals will let you shadow a nurse for a day or so and see if you like it. Just a few ideas.

I started out in a Level III nursery and learned a lot. I really think it would be wise to start there if you are wanting to do NICU.

Try ICU. It is still stressful and busy but not as many patients.

Even though we do linen changes on an as needed basis, it has been 356 days since out last VAP!!!!!

That is something that bothers me as well. When I was working night shift at a hospital in Atlanta I had a Mom that was inquiring about the baby's bath. It had already been done for the night but I told her that whenever she wanted to give a bath, even if it was during day shift to call ahead and make sure the nurse is aware so we don't go ahead and do it. When I was giving report I told the day shift nurse about my conversation with Mom and that Mom was very excited to have a chance to give the bath. When I came back on shift that night and received report from the same day shift nurse she had the nerve to tell me to "never tell a parent that again." She told me that was a way to get day shift mad at me. Her "logical" reasoning was that she could do a bath in 5 minutes and a parent takes longer. I could not believe a nurse was saying this to me. I quickly informed her that I would keep telling parents they could give the bathes and I did not care if she liked it or not. I told her the baby belonged to the parents and they had every right to bathe him and have that special bonding time. Back to the topic, sorry: I have worked in 3 NICU's and they all have had different guidelines for changing linen. One place we changed them every night as well as gave the baby a bath every night. And then the other two we pretty much just changed them on an as needed basis.

I graduated from there. There core classes are just like other colleges. For nursing you need statistics, microbiology and pathophysiology. What other questions do you have?

I am so sorry to hear that! Just be comforted to know that he is not suffering any longer. He is now an angel watching over you. From a nursing perspective...I can say that I have thought this way about some patients. I have some long term NICU babies where I work and it is so sad to see everything they have to go through and know that they will not get any better. Again, I am so sorry for you loss.

Just a little FYI: Clayton State University has a great BSN program. And for anyone interested in Peds or NICU, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is great. Great place to work and you will learn alot. I miss it!!!

Last March one of my primary's passed away. The parents were there and held the baby for a little while. The Dad was having a very hard time and Mom thought it best that they leave. They also had 3 other little ones waiting in the waiting room. I held that baby for a long time after they left. It made the mom feel so much better that I was going to stay with him. I still keep in touch with her to this day. It is a horrible but wonderful bond you can form with these families.

I have to add Copen Hagen for a boys first and middle name. Also a mom who decided to name her kid Furious (she claims to have made the name up)

I can tell you that I have been doing NICU for a little over two years. I have worked only in surgical NICU's and have had to deal with many deaths. 2 of my primary's have actually passed away. One of them was 4 months old and the other was 9 months old. Both of them had spent there entire life in the NICU. I can tell you it is not easy to handle. Once you are attatched to the babies and the families it becomes harder and yet easier all in the same. You learn to grieve with the family. I still think about both of my primary's all the time but you have to remember that you did the best you could. I still keep in touch with the families to this day. It is a bond you share with them. Noone else knew there precious baby but you and them. No matter if the baby was alive for just a few hours or several months you still have that bond with the family. I agree with everyone that the most important role you can play at the time of a death is to collect everything that touched the baby, provide a lock of hair if possible, take pictures and never be afraid to cry in front of the family. My personel advice to you is if you ever have a baby that you are close to die...please go to the funeral...it helps with closure. If you are ever in a situation and need more advice please ask.