Preemie2RN

oh and properly working and setup suction for each!

In our unit, each baby has bag/mask set, connected and O2 flow on, checked and cleaned each shift and replaced if/when needed. Too risky not to have it there and ready to use when you consider how tiny our patients are and the amount of time (too little time) it takes to potentially harm them! Cleanliness is of course important , but wouldnt you rather treat a respiratory infection from a dirty mask/bag combo than to explain to the parents that their child has damage from hypoxia because we couldn't get the mask opened and set up fast enough??? .... p.s. yes I often wonder about all the extra free O2 in the air, and it could probably at least be turned down (I have recently posed that question to our docs-no answer yet)

I need help! My primary has a double stoma ostomy bag that absolutely will not stay on! We are having to change the bag at least every shift if not more often. Our Ostomy nurses have even run out of tricks! Any suggestions?? We are using Hollister one piece bags and have tried stoma paste, wafers and even duoderm under and over the edges!!! Any tips will be greatly appreciated!

I am also a NICU nurse and I have the habit of looking for "toaster head" in every one I see and telling my husband "he/she was a preemie!" and trying to figure out what syndrome kids have when I go places like my kids' school! Horrible, right?! I also check all newborns I see for indicators of syndromes! I also have the habit of listening to my kids breathing and feeling their pulse when I hug them! I have not signed RN on anything that wasn't supposed to have t yet, but I do use medical abbreviations like c and the delta sign when writing out lists! In the past I have written directions for babysitters and my kids' grandparents to give my kids medications PO and in ml instead of using the "normal" tsp measurement!

We use Sage Oral care packets- it contains several swabs, mouth rinse (used on the swabs) and a mouth moisturizer. We have had really good success with this product.

PVT or Pearson Vue Trick is trying to reregister to take your exam through Pearson Vue the same day after taking boards then getting either a "good" pop-up (you can't reregister so supposedly you passed) or the "bad" pop-up taking you to the credit card page (you failed). There is an entire thread on this trick and I have to say it was accurate for me and all in my graduating class that used it.

Another thing, Listerine is extremely caustic on an existing sore! Best thing to use if trying to soothe a sore (and no prescription) is the milk of mag and just rinse it around. I've also heard of the "old wives trick" of putting Alum (its a pickling spice) directly on a sore-not sure about this, heard it burns like crazy but that it heals the sores quicker!

Ask the doc for some Kenalog cream (Triamcinolone Acetonide 0,1%-dental paste) It creates a thin film over the area and slightly numbs it. It may be tough to get on at first-you have to kind of air dry the ulcer and then dab it on-not smear. There's also a prescription "magic mouthwash" It is Benedryl, Lidocaine and Milk of Mag blended-not sure of the amounts but you might could check with a pharmacist. This doesn't create the film but it does numb and help heal the ulcers. Good luck!

My hubby and I are doing P90X and yes it was tough at first, but it has definitely been worth it! I feel so much better! I work a split week M, T, Th then T, Th, F night shift so I had to do it where my "off day" was on a day that I worked for sure. My "off day" is on Tuesday! But I also work at a hospital where fitness is promoted. We have a huge fitness center on campus along with a smaller gym inside the hospital which makes it easy to do something, even if its just walking on the treadmill for a few minutes. We have lots of fitness center promotions including a 12 week bootcamp that they do twice a year. Also, we have a wellness program that is tied into our benefits and insurance. It promotes checkups (both at the doctor and biometric screenings through our fitness center) that can reduce your deductible on your insurance as well as earn gift cards by doing different activities and earning wellness points. Our cafeteria also has a "fit n friendly" menu and special of the day. I think it is harder at some of the other hospitals in our area because of atmosphere and hospital attitude towards fitness. It is definitely doable in any setting, you just have to be motivated and make it a priority. It surprised me how much better I felt when I went back to working out. I don't ned near as much coffee to make it through the night, and I don't crave the junk food as much. I still have days that all I want is a huge 500 calorie coffee on my way out of the hospital but thats a given and you gotta have a little leeway!:)

Dont worry too much! I also had a TON of SATA and several reworded questions-I was beginning to second guess myself!!! Also took 75 questions and felt like I was in another body when I left the test center! I passed! Have you tried the PearsonVue trick?? It was dead on for everyone in my class (Dec 09)! Try it out and see it might ease some of the anxiety, but I know you won't be 100% satisfied until you see that tiny print of PASS!!!!!! Good luck, I'm sure you did just fine! :hug::hug: Julie

I worked as a Patient care tech at Children's while in school. They have FT, PT and Zero based positions that work well around school. Good luck!

Ok, so this is an interesting topic for me as I went in to my doctor's office here in LR to get a TB skin test almost a year and a half ago. I was already an LPN and going back for RN, the medical assistant at the doctor's office knew this. She started to give me the injection with the bevel down and at an almost 90 degree angle!! I told her that it was wrong, she just said that's how she was taught! I stopped her and said I would prefer the doctor give me the injection. She was not happy with me but complied. When the doctor came in, he looked frustrated and since I have been a patient of his for a long time I knew he was going to tell me about it! Apparently they had been having trouble with the way the MA's interpreted how things should be done and were wanting to go back to LPN's and RN's for his clinic. He was also a little frustrated that with MA's HIS license was on the line, and since they had no license there were no consequences for them if they made a mistake, other than losing their job. So this adds more stress to the clinic physicians and ANP's!! The last time I was in they only had a couple of MA's and had several new LPN's! I really don't understand the whole MA school either, it's almost as long (if not as long at sme places) as most LPN programs! I just haven't figured it out! Maybe people will start to catch on, and hopefully not the hard way! I'm not saying that MA's are not useful, but they can be used in the same way Techs or CNA's are used (which by the way are VERY valuable)!

Helo everyone! I am a December graduate working in a level IV NICU and I LOVE it! It is actually the sister NICU to the one I was in as a patient in 77! I even work with the doctor who took care of me! I worked for two years as a patient care tech in the NICU so that really helped be to be prepared for what I was getting into. I already knew the sights, sounds, layout and most of the staff so that made it so much easier. I was also able to stand back and watch as procedures were done and had nurses explain lots of things to me while they were doing them. But even if you don't get to work in the NI beforehand, it is still an amazing place! So much to learn! Dont stress on trying to be the best nurse out there (there's plenty of time to prove yourself), or to know everything (you never will!), just know that you are always learning and try to think of things in the BIG picture realm! A setback today can sometimes be just what is needed to make things better tomorrow! Don't gripe about the "other" shift, they are doing their best too (even though it may not seem like it to you!). Dayshift has EVERYONE around-hard to keep up with your chart, paperwork, orders, and sometimes yourself!!! Nightshift has few resources to get things taken care of!! Everyone has a bad day from time to time! Oh and the Pearsonvue trick worked for everyone that tried it in my class!!! :yeah:Good luck to you all!!! southern.bellex3: Good luck on the interview!! Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing. ~Harriet Braiker

Thanks a bunch! I am not new to the NICU but new to the RN role and I am a person that wants to know the whys and whynots, not just that that's how it's done! We have a lot of nurses that I work with that cannot tell me a good explanation for why we do certain things with certain babies other than that's how that particular neo wants it done. I'm not satisfied with that answer. Any help I can find is appreciated! :)

Ok, so everyone in my graduating class that has used this "trick" so far has been 100% dead on. Even those that failed, so I'm a believer that it works!