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!

Here is a website that lists them by state: Accelerated Second Degree BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) Programs I attended an accelerated nursing program right after my first undergrad degrees, and I can't imagine spending more than 12 months on the content. I think the length of the programs vary from 12 to 15 months at least in my city. Good luck to you!

Thank you for the replies! I had my interview today, and I brought my resume and an awesome cover letter (if I do say so myself!) with me. Those interviewing me seemed very impressed with just the layout of my resume (very clean), and that I only picked what really applied to the job so it all fit on one page. They were also very impressed that I wore a suit (I never quite understood why people don't dress as serious as they are about the job). The interview went great (standard behavioral questions, strengths weaknesses, why nursing, why that unit, what makes me better than other candidates, etc. It was just a smooth conversation that flowed well. I usually get really nervous for things like this, but I felt very prepared and confident in my interview. I found out before I left that I got the job! They're just trying to figure out when I can leave my old unit so I can start. Best of luck to everyone in their job search!

Just an update for those of you who replied/read this post. I had my interview today, and it went fantastic! It was very relaxed, and I answered the normal behavioral interview questions. They were already asking me when my current boss would let me come work in the NICU! I found out shortly after the interview I got the job! I'm so excited for this new opportunity!

I wasn't sure which area to post this in. I am interviewing for a different position in the same hospital next week, and I wasn't sure if I needed to bring a cover letter? I am bringing my resume, wearing a suit, and anticipating answering the standard behavioral interview questions. I'm transferring from another area and there isn't a position actually posted, so I am the only one applying for it. I know if I was filling out an online application it would be appropriate to also have a cover letter, but I didn't know if in this situation if it was? Thanks a lot!

I would call and ask the particular hospital you are wondering about. I know at our NICU no cuddlers are allowed, because we want babies to sleep as much as they can (minimal stimulation) so they can rest and grow. I know there are other NICUs in town that do allow cuddlers though, so I think your best bet is just to call.

Hello all! I was wondering if I could get some advice from some of you NICU nurses. I have been working in Mother Baby for almost 3 years (first job out of nursing school). I have floated to our level III NICU many times to work with the feeders and growers, and I really enjoy it. I did watch some procedures be performed on a micropremie recently to make sure I was ok seeing/taking care of those 23-26 weekers, and I think that made me even more excited to work in the NICU. My question is if any of you have worked in Mother Baby or even L&D previously and what was the transition like going to NICU? How was it different/similar? To any/all of you, what are your favorite/least favorite things about working in the NICU? Do you think you'll always work here? Thanks a lot! By the way, I really enjoy working in Mother Baby, I'm just ready for something a little more challenging.

Are you guys against lavaging babies in all cases, or just routinely (like when an infant is not feeding well)? I believe sometimes it is a necessary procedure. I've had babies turn dusky or blue from gagging on the mucous from delivery. I'll give them a chance to get it out themselves, but if they are turning colors on more than one occasion, then it's time to lavage them. You wouldn't want to send a baby home that was turning blue every 30 minutes. Our policy to is lavage newborns as needed, which we only do when the infant is extremely gaggy like stated above. It has nothing to do with helping them feed better, or spitting a little bit of fluid up. It is the rare cases when infant's are really choking on mucous and they need help getting it out of their tummy. Once they are lavaged 99% of the time the gagging spells stop. I will also agree it is one of my least favorite things to do at work, but it's better than a blue baby.

Congratulations! I think the other posters have touched on how Omaha is... I graduated from Creighton's accelerated program 2 years ago. It was definitely very fast paced, but I can't imagine doing it over a 2 year period! It may be a little different now, but when I graduated the layout of classes was like this: Semester 1: health assessment and health assessment lab (the whole class in 2 weeks), pathophysiology, pharmacology, care management (with clinicals including OB, long term care, and school screenings) = 19 credits Semester 2: leadership, research, populations, care management 2 (with clinicals including med surge, pediatrics, and psych) = 20 credits Semester 3: nursing seminar, another research class, care management 3 (with clinicals including med surge again and icu) = 19 credits You also do your 6 week preceptorship during this time. When I graduated most of my classmates had no problems finding jobs in areas we wanted (OB, peds, ICU, etc). I work in OB now and the students that do their preceptorship at this hospital have seemed to find jobs fairly easily. I was hired as a new grad in OB with another one of my classmates, and quite a few new grads have been hired on the floor in the last year. From what I've read on this website it seems a lot of new grads are having a hard time finding a job, but I think that is very dependent on what area you live in. Good luck with your program! It will fly by! It also might help if you have a study buddy, especially for the memorizing classes like patho & pharm, not so much for care management. PM me if you have any questions!

Decent pay, working 3 days a week, and just being able to do something I love. Mother baby is such a fun area to work in, and you really get to impact people's lives. The other day when I said goodbye to a first time mother I'd been taking care of for 3 days, she bawled. It was such a great feeling to know what a difference I made in her and her husband's life welcoming their little one to the world! :heartbeat

^^^ This. Also, I'd encourage you to do your preceptorship in OB. It will give you more experience than those applicants who did not. I was hired into OB as a new grad, and I was told that was one of the things that set me apart. Good luck to you!