Bailarina

Hi Gompers, Congratulations!:balloons: Well, I am a NICU nurse and my son low and behold ended up in MY NICU where I worked. He wasn't a preemie, he was term with sugar issues, and ended up staying for 3 weeks, he ended up having an insult on MRI:o . Looking back it was one of the most stressful and emotional times of my life because it was completely unexpected. Having him where I worked had advantages and disadvantages. The advantages were I completely trusted my co-workers and docs, got VIP treatment, and everyone was super nice to me. Also, I knew how things worked and operated in my NICU and what to expect. The disadvantages were that I had no privacy. Even while visiting my baby there was always someone coming to say hi, which was nice, but sometimes I wanted to be alone and anonymous. Also, everyone on the unit knew what was going on with my baby- so again, privacy issues. Hopefully, you will not have to be in that situation though because your baby will be just fine! **Positive energy and thoughts your way**:)

Thanks for the info! i have 3 years experience and my hospital will reimburse for the exam plus give a TINY bit more pay hourly so I figured it's worth it. I want to take my time studying for it the rest of this year and hopefully take it next year. Thanks so much for the website and great information about the exam.:wink2:

I did it backwards, I was a NICU nurse first and then became a NICU mom! My son was in the NICU for a couple of weeks and I was already a NICU nurse. Boy did I get to experience it from the other side! I do know that it made me a better nurse as far as relating to what the parents are going through and being more understanding towards "needy" parents. I think your experience as a NICU mom will be a great asset as a nurse, you will have a special understanding and compassion for the families who are going through such an emotional time. Good luck to you!

Has anybody on here taked the neonatal RNC exam? If so how do you go about taking it? Is there a website with the info? I would like to take it next year but I am not even sure where to start! Thanks!

yep 27 gauge here also.

I would think that having newborn nursery experience would be a great asset in transferring to the NICU. Does your hospital offer an internship program for the NICU and if so is that an option? Good luck in whichever you choose.

We also keep head mid-line for 96 hours and initiate a minimal stimulation protocol for babies less than 32 weeks.

I've been in the NICU for 2 years and plan on staying there long-term. I can't see doing any other type of nursing, I love my job.

Hi Gompers, I was just wondering if you have seen a decrease in the incidence of head bleeds with the regular sedation?

wow, everyday is so different. I have days where my stress scale is definitely a 10. I guess the lowest stress day would be a 5-6.

ok, thanks for clearing up my confusion!

Do you mean TCU? I didn't think TWU had a CRNA program. Maybe I'm wrong, do they have one now?

Thanks for your advice!

I work in a big hospital in Dallas and still make horrible money. My base salary as an RN, BSN with 2 years experience is $21/hr.

Nursing in TX is ok, I love my job in a level 3 NICU. However, salary rates for nurses are horrible in TX IMO.