nurseamena

Hi there--I was told before by pharmacy that it is associated with profound deafness in neonates. I tried to search pubmed and found that it is ototoxic, but couldn't find anything related to neonates in particular. Hope that helps!

Hi there, I just finished my masters in Neonatal nursing in July. I'm working as a nurse at the moment since I wanted nursing experience. I think the amount of nursing experience needed to be a good NNP depends upon the person and the type of experiences that you get in their unit. You may see more in 1 year at one hospital than you would 3 years in another. The National Certification Corporation has just recently required 2 years of NICU experience to sit for the NNP exam. While I am "grandfathered" in at the moment, it applies to anyone now entering programs. This applies to all schools. I took this off of Vanderbilt's school of nursing website: Recently, the National Certification Corporation (NCC), a not for profit organization that provides the national credentialing program for nurses in neonatal nursing specialties, changed the eligibility criteria for national certification and educational standards for Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Programs. The requirement is as follows. The NNP program entry requirements as of January 1, 2005 require that all students entering the NNP program must have two years of clinical nursing experience in a critical care environment where high risk neonatal care is provided. Hope this helps!

Thanks RNpilot, this is definitely a learning experience. I think the reason it is hitting me now is that after being here 6 months, I now have time to think about and worry about what other people think about me. But I need to snap out of that high school mentality. This is not a popularity contest. My role right now is to provide the best care possible, advocate for my patient, and learn as much as I can. This is also my first time out of school with a real job. I've reached my goal and now have to sit down and make new goals for the future. I've also started volunteering at the humane society so I'll feel a little productive on my off weeks. Thanks for the dating advice too--I need it :)

Well, I've decided to stay a while longer and see what happens. I need to learn to not allow a few people to affect me so much. I know I'm a good nurse and always do my best. I am going to start looking for a part time job at a delivering hospital. It would be nice to see a few babies who will turn out normal. Perhaps seeing very few good outcomes is also affecting the way I feel about my job. Thanks for the advice!

Hi there everyone. I just got back from work and I'm feeling a little sad. I have a new job and I am off orientation now, been here 6 months now. The patient population is exactly what I hoped for. It is very high acuity--once they act like grower feeders they transfer to other units. I love what I do and every day I learn something new. Unfortunately, for the most part, my coworkers are very unhelpful, unsupportive and unfriendly. I have tried very hard to be nice to everyone. The unit has very old equipment. No one cares about developmental care. I really have no idea what to do. I have talked to several other nurses who have the same experience in this unit, but that still doesn't make me feel any better. I am a really sensitive person and I keep telling myself that I need to change my attitude. Has anyone felt like this at a new job and ended up being happy there after a while? Any advice would be great.

Hi everyone! The website Neonatology on the Web. http://www.neonatology.com has some great pictures in their Diversions and Classics section. It has pictures of nurses and preemies at Coney Island, etc Check it out: http://www.neonatology.com/pinups/coneyislandnurses.html http://www.neonatology.com/pinups/omaha.html

Here is an interesting fact: Fetal breathing movements can be detected by ultrasound as early as 10 weeks'gestation. Pretty amazing! Here is my source- Maternal, Fetal, and Neonatal Physiology by Blackburn

Thanks for everyone's replies, I was putting together a presentation on Develpmental care and was wondering what people thought about the Preemie for a Day program. It sounds like a fun/educational program that could help new nurses, veteran nurses, as well as everyone else working in the NICU. Thanks, nurseamena

I was wondering if anyone has ever done the Preemie for a day program. If so what parts were the most fun/educational? Thanks, Amena

I know an NNP that works several 24 hour shifts a month. I hope this helps.

I definitely feel that I am called to nursing. Something spiritual guided me to a career that will allow me to "make a difference" I get a warm fuzzy feeling inside when I know that I made a difference in someone's life by providing compassionate care. Sometimes little things that we do matter more than we know to patients and their family. I notice Alphafe talking about nursing being all about whether a patient or family would "recommend" a nurse, facility etc. I am finishing up nursing school and wonder if this mentality has anything to do with for example calling patients clients instead. All of our teachers do this and it seems so awkward and more like a business relationship to me. A lawyer has a client, a nurse has a patient. Thanks for listening--this is my first post :) nurseamena