sparkyRN

Our unit has been chronically short staffed forever. However, lately the situation has gotten really,really bad. Last week the RN's had assignments ranging from 4 ICU babies each plus admissions to 8 special care babies without any NA/extern help. A...

I am finishing my second semester in the UWYO MSN nurse educator option. I can't speak to the undergrad experience since I got by BSN the traditional way from the Univ. of TN many, many moons ago. But , I do think the graduate program is high quality...

I just finished my first class online with UWyo. I'm in the MSN Nurse Educator option which is all online. It is definitely grad level classes which means a lot of reading and analysis on your own then online postings with your classmates. The instru...

There's ideal and then there's reality. Ours is a level 3 referral, 80 bed unit-usually 20 ICU, 40-50 level 2/special care babies. We often carry 3:1 and even occas. 4:1 in ICU, and 5-7:1 in level 2. We'd love to maintain a 2:1, 3:1, and 4:1 standar...

The March of Dimes has some great resource material that may be what you need. http://www.marchofdimes.org

Best of luck to you and your husband!

So late in sending you my congratulations...my apologies. Glad to hear the 2nd trimester is looking up! I hope you'll be able to enjoy the rest of your pregnancy. Well, I don't think any of us really enjoy those last couple of weeks! Take care of yo...

I'd suggest you save your money right now. It's just one more thing to keep up with. Nearly all the info you will need will be on your unit. It may take a little more time to look drugs and lab values up the old fashion way, but you may be more l...

You might want to consider the pediatric route. Most children's hospitals, in addition to having a NICU also have a Special Care Unit that is designed for babies past the NICU stage...usually under 1 to 1 1/2 years old. However, you need to be awar...

Have you toured Carrell Children's Hospital at Vandy? I drove up for a one day nursing seminar and the best part of the day was touring the NICU. It was totally state-of-the-art and much different from the one big room NICU that I am used to. The f...

I like most anything ICUish. My favorite is the term PPHN with all the gizmos--NO, oscillator, drips, multiple lines. (Can do without the chest tubes, though.) They are such a great challenge and can have quite a miraculous turn around. It's great...

Our situation is a lot like Gompers. I don't mind doing my time in step-down--sometimes the change of pace is nice, and you have to give the newbies some ICU experience so they can work on their skills. I always get a little stir crazy after a coup...

We are allowed bands, but no watches. I try not to wear the band either because I find all the handwashing to be so irritating and it becomes increasingly so with jewelry on....probably due to the extra moisture under the band.

Tell me what it is...maybe we are doing them, but calling them something else.

Thanks for the encouragement and Happy New Year! Sparky

I was recently placed on the PICC line team and had my bedside training--see one, do one! Actually, the nurses who are skilled at PICC insertion have been very helpful and are willing to assist me as I learn the procedure. I have tried twice and wa...

I agree with Gompers. Besides the learning curve, the chances are better than good that you will be spending a lot of hours on your feet. There's alot of moving to be done in a NICU not to mention trips to L&D, CT lab, surgery etc. When you sta...

Where in the scalp did you stick? I know some nurses like to stick the jugulars, but there is no way I'm going there!

We do 2 successfully with a trained nurse then we are on our own. We use the Bard 24G catheter. I work exclusively NICU so, no adults. I am not familiar with 'Modified Seldinger,' and no usg. My 2 attempts on 2 seperate babies were right and left ax...

Totally agree with rainbows. While it's not the preferred or best form of stimulation, if your hands are dirty a thump on the isolette will create a startle relfex and a deep inspiration. If my hands are dirty and the ABD is severe, I'll thump the ...

7-8 average though there have been plenty of 10s lately! The stress is either due to high acuity or high census. We actually went on diversion last week for the first time ever because we were swamped.

20 1/2 years

Yikes!

Any good hospital with an established training and preceptor program would probably be happy to have an experienced licensed nurse regardless of his or her background. If you're willing to stick it out, they will likely welcome you with open arms an...

0.6cc 1/4ns flushes before and after every med.