dseem13

We put 2 ID bands on every baby using poseys. The first goes over the pulsox to keep it in place on their hand/foot, and the second goes on the small ecg lead box (no need to unwrap the baby this way).

Sorry I am no help either! We use a closed system (not sure on the brand) whether it's a UAC or PAL. You can draw back on a PAL you just have to be a little more careful the artery doesn't spasm. You draw back 2-3ml, and then we have this like plastic needle you put on a syringe that you put into a hub to draw the blood sample. When you're done with that you remove the plastic needle from the hub and give back your 2-3ml. I'm not sure why you would ever want to use an open system?

I work in a Level III 42 bed NICU (14 being intermediate beds). Most nurses are vent trained and trained for deliveries. The nurses that are on admits attend the deliveries with at the very least a NP and RT. If it's a known preterm delivery the MD with attend as well. We are not a teaching hospital so we do not have fellows or residents. You know first thing in the morning if you are first or second admit. I think you just have to be really flexible because you never know what's going to happen (ie those times we get 5 babies in a shift). If it's a c-section the NNP scrubs in and will catch the baby. She will then bring it into our stabilization room (right off the c-section room) where we have all resuscitation equipment ready to go, and it's much warmer than the c-section room (ie 78-80 degrees). If it's a micropremie you can ask the charge nurse to attend with you (or any delivery you may want an extra set of hands). Our charges do not take patients unless we are really short staffed. Admit assignments typically consist of at least 2 if not 3 other babies. The rest of the team will help with your admit and/or your other babies until your admit gets settled in. During the day we have 2 MDs until 5pm, then we have 1 on site. We always have at least 1, but usually 2 NPs on site whether it's day or night, and we have 2 RTs at all times. Things seem to run really smoothly as long as L&D calls us before the baby is delivered... Last week we had 2 babies in 2 days (one at 30 weeks, one at 24 weeks) deliver in bed before the NICU team was ever called. That's always fun.

We change all our syringes/bags q24 (or more often if needed). We change most of our tubing q24 as as well with the exception of fluids that do not contain amino acids, lipids, electrolytes etc. So basically unless it's D10, D20, or art line fluid the tubing is changed daily. We do sterile line changes whether it's a PIV, PICC, UVC, or CLC with a sterile mask and sterile gloves (one person is sterile the other is clean). We have had 1 central line infection in almost 4 years of our hospital being opened.

When I worked in Mother baby we floated to L&D to be baby nurse and/or take care of moms in recovery (pretty much the same job as you would do on a mother baby floor just a little sooner after delivery). We also floated to the gyn floor (taking bladder repairs, hysters) in which we had 3-6 days of training in when we were hired. Lastly, we floated to the NICU (how I found my love for the unit) if we chose to. A lot of the nurses refused to float there, or if they did they would only rove and not take a group of patients. They showed me how to work the monitors and feeding pumps, so I just took feeder/growers (no IVs, no respiratory support). There were only 2-3 of us that would float to the NICU. Floating to L&D and gyn was not optional. We are a women's hospital so we don't have a true med/surge floor. We do not float to the ICU, ER, PACU, OR, or antepartum. I wouldn't do anything that I felt put my license at risk, but I felt trained and capable of taking care of mothers/babies in recovery, gyn patients, and the feeder growers in NICU. If I ever had a question there were plenty of people to ask.

I love nursing. Yes, sometimes staffing isn't great, then there is unit politics, ridiculous amount of charting, etc, but all in all I really enjoy my job. Helping families get through hard times and good times, and once in a while having time to do the really fun/meaningful stuff with parents in the NICU (ie getting their baby/babies out for a photo shoot together, taking a picture while they are away and decorating it for them) make it all worth while to me. I realize how lucky I am to have such a fantastic job.

Agreed. Our hospital is a non smoking campus, but we still hire employees that smoke. I understand and support employers for not hiring smokers. It costs them more money in health insurance and can affect your coworkers and patients. It stinks, and for some people can be extremely irritating/make them sick. I think that's what differentiates smoking from obesity and alcohol use. Smoking affects those around you, while as long as you are physically capable of your job and don't come to work with alcohol in your system, it doesn't affect your coworkers/patients (albeit still increases health care costs to the employer).

Ditto to what everyone else has said. It's proper etiquette to send thank you notes to those who interviewed you. Hope you get the job!

I had a BS in biology & psychology. I thought I wanted to go to med school, but after job shadowing realized nurses spend much more time with patients in the hospital setting. I didn't decide what I wanted to do until end of Nov-beginning of Dec senior year, so I was more limited to what nursing program choices I had. I wanted an accelerated program semi close to my home town. I graduated from an accelerated program from a well known PRIVATE (ie expensive) college. If I could do it over again I would still choose the accelerated route (I wasn't planning on working during the time nor do I have children), but I would pick a public university to decrease the amount of student loans. Could you ask your academic advisor (my first university gave all students one to help them plan their classes, future, etc) if there is a certain program he/she recommends/has heard good things about? Good luck whatever path you choose!

Do you know if you are vent training? If you are just going to take care of intermediates for a while, I think 8 weeks would be plenty of orientation. If you're vent training, then I would ask for 4ish more weeks.

At the hospital I work at the policy is similar to those above. If we don't get the flu vaccine then we need a documented medical/or other reason for it and you must wear a mask when in patient care areas. I guess I don't understand why we wouldn't be expected to get the flu shot. We take care of patients who are in the hospital for a reason and many are at a higher risk of contracting the flu (among other things). This also helps prevent the spread of the flu to your coworkers if as many get the vaccine as possible. I would get the shot whether it was required or not to protect myself, my coworkers, and my patients.

My first job was in mother baby, which at the time was exactly the job I wanted. I truly enjoyed my job and my co-workers (worked there 3 years). The last 4-6 months I just felt there were some days that I was just going through the motions. I still enjoyed working with those moms and babies, but I didn't find it to be as challenging therefore it wasn't as rewarding anymore. I floated to NICU quite often and found I really enjoyed that it was similar in that you're still taking care of babies and families, but it is more challenging because the babies are not "normal" newborns going home with mom in a couple days. So, 3 years ago I would have said I found my niche right away in mother baby, but that has changed. I am on orientation in the NICU, and I love it and I think this will be where I stay.

In our NICU you orient for approximately 12 weeks of intermediate care with a preceptor. You work 6mos-1yr before you are then oriented to CPAP, vents, going to deliveries, etc. I think it's great to get comfortable with the less sick babies before being introduced to the sicker ones.

I worked mother baby for 3 years before I was hired in the NICU. The NICU wasn't even on my radar until I floated there frequently when they were short staffed and found out I loved it!

As far as the format of your cover letter goes, I would start (after your info, their info, the dear so and so) with a statement about hoping they will consider you for such and such position at whatever hospital (something of that sort). You want to talk about how you heard about this position, why you want to work there, etc. In the next paragraph I think it's a good idea to relate some of your strengths to your hospital or unit's core values (what they are looking for). This shows you have done your research, but also shows why you would be a good fit with the hospital/unit. The third paragraph in mine stated other positive traits I possessed, my work history and how it related, that I pride myself on this or that, etc. Your last sentence/paragraph needs to wrap everything up nicely. Ie: I believe my skills and experience match up with the kind of nurse you are looking for. Thank you for your consideration. I hope that makes sense. I didn't want to just copy and paste my cover letter on here. Don't be afraid to toot your own horn a little bit. Remember your cover letter is NOT supposed to repeat your resume. It is meant to go into more detail or explore things your resume can't. Good luck!