nicu4me

We use viagra on our older chronic preemies......PPHN

Couldn't wait for NICU = no more call lights, now its just the constant monitor alarms! I hated the call lights, I may be the only one down that wing and there could be 3 on. My response is to the pt that says "I think my call light is broken", is no I saw it but 2 were ahead of you. HAHA And also loved the ones where they didn't know it was on or it was an "accident", they r testing you! One time I told someone that's ok, we only charge $5.00 per call light. I thought I could joke with this patient but he believed me and I had to tell him I was REALLLY just kidding. But the best way to avoid the call light problem when I worked nights is to go down the schedule for the night. I will be here now to assess, then around 2 to turn you over and do vitals, then around 4 or 5 lab will come in and such. I also said you may see me in here putting your scheduled 2am tordol, reglan IV or me checking your IV, so you will see me or the tech will be checking on you. At the beginning, address the blankets, the lights, the toileting, pain, etc. it really cut down the # of times. I wish the families weren't allowed to push them either. Big zapper for them.

Had a patient with coumadin levels, I had to report because they were always drawn early, and I can't leave without criticals being called. He was usually in the building and rounding early on our floor, but not always. So, I had to call and he said NEVER CALL ME ON COUMADIN LEVELS, I said would that be just for today or everyday that I work........didn't go over well.

Chin up! You passed NCLEX! Keep applying. Our NICU only takes new grads or someone with experience. Very easy to get into as a new grad. They usually hire 3 or 4 groups of 5-6 per year. Orientation is about 3 months. I shouldn't say only takes them. In the years I've been at this big hospital NO ONE from another unit has ever even applied. Get your foot in the door at a hospital WITH a NICU, easier than a hospital without. Take what you can get for now, volunteer with Planned Parenthood, or something maybe with March of Dimes, idk, many places to volunteer with kids as the focus. Get a job, start paying some bills and keep applying. You sound like you would be a wonderful coworker. Good luck

Actually that statement from llhRN who quoted the Commuters portion of her response implies to the poster that all RN's are equal in education because they take the same NCLEX. DO NOT want to re-hash all the other older postings on this but I think you're quote is misleading that education has nothing to do with her not graduating with a BSN.

If she is starting out as a non RN, with a degree in another field (bachelors), she will be a graduate of that nursing program and take the NCLEX to make her the RN. IF the school is a 4 year/2year/accelerated/bridge whatever, you need to find that out if you think shes going to get a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The BSN is SPECIFICALLY a bachelor of science degree in NURSING (N).

i had a preceptor actually ask me if I was enjoying my position.....made me wonder what I was portraying. I said yes, but I am taking it very seriously, so right now I don't think that it's that fun, but I keep looking at the other RN"s who are able to laugh and joke while doing their cares. I will get there I told her and I have. Sats of 2, HR of low 40's, and going down, yeah, come help me but ya just gotta go with it, except that I am scared in my boots still after a couple of years with NICU. Come up baby is all I think about! We all worry about things until they become second nature. Maybe you are a more mature RN? SOme of the younger RN's without children, just outta high school, then RN's, don't see the same things that I do. They will when they have kids. Maybe you are so serious that it will take you a little longer to feel comfortable? I used to look at those HFOV's, coming and couldn't concentrate on my feeder grower threesome, scared to death of what was coming up next in orientation. Now, yep it's me with 6 drips and a HFOV, and another babe. Think of the positives that you do, perhaps if you talked to your NM and ask for another preceptor once in a while and see if that helps. We had MANY that precepted, too much IMHO, however, one day someone said or showed me something, same thing as another and it just clicked better when she did it. Maybe that would help you. Youre not ratting our your current one, just ask for another once in awhile.

on a previous post up above, HFOV as heroic measures?

Had chest pain work up resolved while still in ER. Had to have stress ECHO do not do them on Sundays. Had to stay overnight, told MD that even tho I work for healthsystem that it would be too much. Still paying it off. ended up with migraine from nitro that they took off. By the time they had a bed ready vs were obviously stable. He said he would send me out AMA because he wanted me to stay. I am STILL paying that off, my healthsystem threatens all teh time, I am paying all that I can because my health premium is 250.00 pay period/q 2weeks. I told them how can we accept so much public aid and give out bus passes and food vouchers and such and we keep babes wayyyy tooo long for convenience of parents or potential adoptive foster families. Heck kids been there 6 months and no contact from parent, know we are going to foster care, just start the process at 6 months. 3,000 or more per day. I finally told them between what I pay and what I can pay is alot, they said payroll deduction, I said no we are not always guaranteed our hours depending on census. and threw in there why do we give out car seats, etc., when parents have $$$$ to smoke, do drugs, etc. lets stop people that freeload. HOWEVER, I would not want to actually be so pooor as to qualify for medical assistance. Sounds like I should be grateful my chest pain was ok, but really 12 hours of monitoring in ER, plus cardiac levels drawn, let me go, I will come back on Monday for the stress echo.

Nope harder to get noc shift because of differential! lot of new grads on days

Hi, may not be what you are thinking about but say for our GT drip feeds we use oxygen tubing stretched across the open crib and then use a wrist restraint around the syringe and hang it that way from the O2 tubing

Did it on orientation. Patient was in a hurry to get d/c the INT was still in, I realized that preceptor didn't do it and I didn't either. I called the pt. they acted ticked but explained that we forgot it and how to take it out. Will they tell someone else, yeah probably. Pt was also prob trying to hide it due to drug use. Really? They got dressed on their own.

U talked about wanting to be a NICU/PICU nurse, and wanting to put those sickest kids on the vents? We are a level 3 NICU. The RT's DONT touch our babies. They drag the equipment to the bedside and do checks on it and change out circuits. So putting the sickest baby on the vent? Well you as the RT drags the HFOV or the vent or BCPAP to the bedside and off YOU go as I connect and I dial in the settings. The NNP or the MD and I intubate the baby, suction, etc. Yes, the RT on transport gets to go out by air/ground, but that's only for respiratory needs so that they can help with the equipment. Most of the time I don't trust the RT's because the will walk by a baby alarming with sat's in the teens while I have my arms in another isolette. I have also worked adults, you get to the floor and start a neb treatment. So what? What I think is that if you want any type of interaction with patients/families/coworkers is that you become and RN. You will draw your own gasses, know what they mean, and interact with the MD. RT's they get the order in the computer to come to the bedside and start a neb or set up a vent. That's it. So this depends upon how much u would be bored in an RT job. NO advancement NO changing specialities and stuck doing the same thing all the time. Not for me and prob as many times it does suck being the RN responsible for everything all the time, I have the control and I have the role as the advocate to the patient. Do you think the MD or NNP is going to ask the RT what the lungs sound like or how they responded to a particular treatment? Don't go to RT school if it only because it's cheaper, shorter, etc. you will regret following your need to connect to another on a much deeper level than "here's your neb tx". Good luck to you!

Styrofoam (sp?) cups changed QD, with the syringe cap on and place back in the wrapper or in a glove. We tried the penguin system and the medela. Those bags are expensive and the other took too long to warm up. We have to have something over the end d/t crypto (? some micro bacteria in our water/sink) Or if its a trophic put it in the giraffe while Im doing my assessment.

We have a doc that likes to do sadistic things in name of research (the staff thinks). Who puts a 23 wkr on nitric? Who takes kids that are apgars of 0/0/0 really what came after the last 0? I am serious. Also, dead guts, these kids sometimes live but have horrible outcomes. Yeah but we had one kid make it remember? To what extent. I tell ya our job comes with a lot of moral distress. People do not understand that we DO NOT take care of regular babies that are just born small. They r half cooked. Parents saying they don't have 10.00 to stay in our hospital hotel? Really? As I hear you smokin on the phone. No car to visit? Really? And how are you going to care for a chronic kid? If the kid gets to go home on O2, and needs homecare they have the O2 delivered somewhere else than where they actually reside in order to keep their drugs in the house. They work the system so bad. No car seat? (Im not talkin dreamride) Really? And my last rant, "I can't take the baby home today, I have to work the weekend and I don't have the room ready" ITS BEEN 3 MONTHS! Oh, I must be gettin burned out. Just talking about 23 weekers makes me ill at times. They are fetal to the extreme and NOT ONE OF OUR DOCS ever suggests taking off. 420 grams, sure we will take ya. HFOV for months, NEC, PDA, etc. And I think about 90% of our population is medicaide. I don't discriminate but just making the payment on my hospital bills or my copay for insurance visit, I think twice about going. Something has to change in my state. Sorry for the hijack.