FlutterbyNurse

Hi all! I'm a recent MSN NNP grad and am gearing up for my exam. I was wondering if any of you have recommendations for study materials that were helpful for you? Thanks in advance for your help!

As with anything in the nursing world I think it's important to look at the literature. Magnet Status came out of research. In the 1980's, when the nursing shortage was at an all time high and hospitals were doing crazy sign-on bonuses to attract ...

Thanks for the inquiry. Our NICU recently adopted a back to sleep policy as well. However, we chose to do it closer to discharge. Our policy is to allow elevated sleep positions until they are in an open crib and stable. Then we start the back to...

I'm just curious how your units handle volume parameters for feedings? Is there a policy your neos follow or do they all "make their own rules"? I recently had a term baby (39 weeks) who came to us for rule-out sepsis due to lethargy and hypothermia...

I'm not familiar with the hospitals in Tampa, but there are some great ones in Orlando. Florida Hospital has a smaller NICU and Winnie Palmer is the 4th largest NICU in the nation. There are a lot of good opportunities here in Florida and the unit ...

We had a similar issue with methadone. I can only speak from what was discussed regarding methadone, and I am aware that cocaine is quite a different drug. We had a mother who was abusing methadone and subsequently gained a newborn in the NICU that ...

I think you should put this on your resume. First of all, you do not need to include why you left as a part of your actual resume and when the employer questions you about the job I would say something like, "I gained a lot of valuable experience fr...

Sorry-just realized you asked another question of me. Our unit visitation policy allows for two visitors per baby at the bedside at a time. One person must be banded and all visitors have to be over the age of 18, except that we do allow siblings o...

D'Lycia (Is it just me, or would this be pronounced dee-li-shia, making it sound a lot like delicious??) Kennique A'Laysia

I don't know where you are in FL, but I'm in the Orlando area. If you need any of the suggested items-bp cuffs and diapers-I could get them to you if you're close by. Let me know! :)

I am a level II NICU nurse with a background similar to yours. My original job was in a L/D mother baby unit that had nursery and peds on the floor as well. There was some debate over here as to whether I should try to study and get my NICU certifi...

The way our monitors work the respiration piece is not terribly accurate. It takes the baby's respirations and averages them-so they are not true to the second. So we don't use apnea alarms-only spO2 alarms and heartrate alarms. The way to tell if...

We are only allowed to have drinks in breakrooms or restrooms. We were all given the OSHA printout that mandates this-no drinks are allowed in patient care areas or anywhere that blood or body fluids might be found-so our nurses' station in the pod ...

We have been using z-flow positioners in our unit for a year with good result. We don't see skin breakdown at all now and we are seeing much better head shapes as well. No more toaster heads!! :chuckle

I work in the one of the top ten largest NICUs in the nation. We have 120 beds and have operated with up to 137 kids on the unit at our highest number. It is a great place to work and we have the advantage of being a teaching hospital as well. It i...

Our unit uses milk techs. We have two to three techs a day dedicated to making and mixing all of the breastmilk in our unit. They have their own room and are required to wear surgical hats while in the room. They only work on one patient's milk at...

At my facility we have mom label the breastmilk with two of the baby's patient labels. We require double independent verification (both people need to check the milk bottle label against the patient's ID band that they are wearing-which is also a la...

I work with a nurse who had a 25 weeker 14 years ago. It's amazing, but he is doing great. The one thing that she offers to our parents that I'm unable to is a knowledge of what it feels like to see your tiny baby through plexiglass hooked up to ma...

Our NICU has 112 beds-level III and level II combined. We use volunteers as much as possible. I'm in the level II area, but I know they are utilized in level III as well. In level II they can change diapers, bottle feed babies and hold-rock, sing,...

We use the Nutrisafe 2 system by VYGON. http://www.vygonusa.com/whats-new.htm It is a purple system that sarted in the UK and is now over here in States as well. It is NG tubes, NG tubing and Enteral feed syringes. They have a special end on all of...

Our policy allows no jewelry from the elbows down for staff or visitors. Staff and visitors must do a 3 minute surgical scrub before any patient contact occurs. Isolette covers are changed bi-weekly when we change the isolette or PRN (if they fall...

I work in Orlando, FL at Winnie Palmer Hospital. We have a new (2 year old) state of the art facility that has level III and we are one of the go-to hospitals in the state for ECMO. Our level III nurses are all trained for the DR with those who want...

i am on the unit practice council for the level ii nicu that i work in. we are currently looking at some of our current practices to see if we, as a unit, are following current best practice recommendations. one of the areas we feel we need improveme...