sparkyRN

sparkyRN

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All Content by sparkyRN

  1. NNP Please Read!

    sparkyRN replied to salvati08's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Level I is well baby nursery--for most hospitals it is where babies go right after delivery for admission and observation. At some places, the babies stay there, but at most hospitals the babies...

  2. NNP Please Read!

    sparkyRN replied to salvati08's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Maybe if you post some of your questions, some of us could help you find the answers. Many of us have worked with NNPs and are often involved in their

  3. I Did It!!!

    sparkyRN replied to pedrn's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Congratulations on making this career change. My advise to you is to absorb all you can during your NICU training and preceptorship. Ask lots of questions, even the "dumb" ones! Know that no one...

  4. Gavage feedings

    sparkyRN replied to Karen Whiteted's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Residuals and gastric aspirate are the same

  5. repogle

    sparkyRN replied to kaibigan's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    We generally use an intermittent low suction for gastric drainage; it is supposed to be less irritating to the stomach lining. Our protocol used to require us to irrigate the OGT q4h with saline then...

  6. Indications for PICC insertion

    sparkyRN replied to melissah's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    The nurses love them. Some of our docs, however, are hesitant about using them. One of the fellows will not allow them on his patients b/c of infection risk. It's really a crap shoot--depends more...

  7. heelstick or venous???

    sparkyRN replied to kaibigan's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Kaibigan- Sorry to hear you are having difficulty adjusting to your new hospital environment. The way you've described it, it sounds a little scary if the nurses are all doing their own thing and not...

  8. heelstick or venous???

    sparkyRN replied to kaibigan's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    To answer Kaibigan's question, "heel stick or venous?" Stick the heel, save the vein. If no UAC or art line, use an art stick for blood culture, coag studies and when a volume greater than about 1.5cc...

  9. NICU visitation policy-Are more visitors really better?

    sparkyRN posted a topic in NICU, Neonatal

    After reading a thread on adult ICU/CCU visitation, I went back through the last 6 months of threads on this site. I didn't see a discussion on NICU visitation and would like some input on your...

  10. Qualities and certifications needed

    sparkyRN replied to Kalico's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    At our hospital NRP is part of the 280 hour instruction program and testing is done prior to finishing preceptorship. As with all healthcare facilities, regular BLS/CPR is required every 2 years even...

  11. heelstick or venous???

    sparkyRN replied to kaibigan's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Kaibigan-what country are you

  12. blood pressure on four extremities

    sparkyRN replied to kaibigan's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Certainly there's nothing wrong with doing BP x 4 ext. and kaibigan, you need to follow your hospital's protocol. But as prmenrs said, as a standard admission protocol I agree that there is poor...

  13. heelstick or venous???

    sparkyRN replied to kaibigan's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    yikes! Sounds like your medical director and nurse manager need to get together and update your policy/procedure manual before you make the transition from II to III. Have they asked for a group to...

  14. temp regulation

    sparkyRN replied to kaibigan's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Same for

  15. Stethescope question?

    sparkyRN replied to Love4Me's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Got to tell you-I've had the cheap and the expensive and I always heard better out of the cheaper one. Could you try borrowing different scopes form current staff nurses and see which one works best...

  16. temp probe placement

    sparkyRN replied to Hannahrn's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Whether your baby is in an isolette or on a radiant warmer, the temp probe should be on an exposed surface area-abdomen if supine or side-lying or lower back below the rib cage if the infant is prone...

  17. temp probe placement

    sparkyRN replied to Hannahrn's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Hannahrn-We have always been required by our medical director to place the temp probe over the liver for the reason you stated. It makes sense when you think about it. It makes me crazy when I find...

  18. is this normal newborn care? advice please

    sparkyRN replied to wobble's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Our Level III NICU stopped doing rectal temps on admission several years ago for this very reason. We do a visual inspection on admission for patency, but no rectal temps, ax temps only. You don't...

  19. just wanted to say thanks

    sparkyRN replied to Trixiebell's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    How interesting that you will become a midwife first! I've really enjoyed hearing from our international nurses and students over the years to get their perspective on the NICU! Good luck to you

  20. Question...do you ever see family nurse practitioners in the NICU?

    sparkyRN replied to carolina_girl's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Nope...NNPs only

  21. I wish somebody had told me......before I found out the hard way.

    sparkyRN replied to AuntMeggie's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    When a parent calls, make sure you know the baby's name or at least his sex before you start talking about him. You may have all kinds of good news to tell them, but they won't be able to get past...

  22. MRSA in the NICU.....question for you

    sparkyRN replied to carolina_girl's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    We do the

  23. In need of a poem, or kind words

    sparkyRN replied to BeesAngel's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    This is a poem we use as part of our memory box whenever a baby dies. I have seen it attributed to several different authors so I don't know for certain who the originator is. We changed the words...

  24. MRSA in the NICU.....question for you

    sparkyRN replied to carolina_girl's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    Sorry, just a curious reader... what does MRSA stand for? It is actually highly colonized in some populations. Many people have the bacteria without having an infection. It is often found in the...

  25. MRSA in the NICU.....question for you

    sparkyRN replied to carolina_girl's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    It is actually highly colonized in some populations. Many people have the bacteria without having an infection. It is often found in the nasopharynx and on the skin. The problem with it is that it...