rockabye

Also, why you want this job and what makes you the best candidate for hire! good luck!

What does management have to say on the issue? Not listening to advice or coming up with ways to effectively address complaints is the issue they need to solve. Otherwise, they won't be able to sugarcoat the low morale.

I always clamp the tubing too, but my rationale is to prevent back flow of the meds and flush, especially if the stomach is full. The only way air is going to get in the stomach is if you purposefully push air in through a syringe, or if the tubing is empty and then you flush fluid behind it, which then only the amount of air that was in the tubing will be pushed in. To prevent the air in the empty tubing, you can prime the tubing first. A little bit of air in the stomach isn't going to cause much of a problem. It's like drinking a carbonated beverage.

I haven't vented a mickey button but I do vent NG and OG tubes frequently. I always do your "first" method and I have never vented as you describe in your "second" method nor do I understand how that would constitute as venting the patient for 10 to 15 minutes. I just do as you describe and attach an empty syringe without the plunger to the unclamped tubing. The part that I differ with is that I always hold or secure the syringe above the patient, not below. With gravity, air is going to rise, while the stomach contents stay down. If you put the syringe below the patient, you are more likely just going to leak the stomach contents out and less likely to get the air out. Sometimes, I will see a little bit of the stomach fluid/feeding come up the tubing, but if you hold the syringe higher, it will fall back into the stomach. Also, air is not going to just flow into the stomach unless you push it in. Remember, air rises naturally! Hope that helped.

Yr'neh - pronounced (your-nay-ah) - It was for a little girl and mom said its "Henry" spelled backwards, named after her father. I thought Henrietta would have been cuter.

We use them on micros, but obviously not on top of them lol! Before we consistently used z-flos, it was not uncommon to use them for positional support like for part of the nest wall. I also used to see other nurses putting the micros prone on top of the zakys. Some nurses have put the zakys across the chest on the bigger newborns to help comfort them, but management put a stop to that due to the risk of SIDS.

I think you will definitely be more marketable having worked in the NICU and your background experience. I also suggest trying to land a NICU clinical rotation if your nursing school offers one. Hopefully the job market improves by the time you graduate. Good luck!

Congrats on your NICU job! I also think that it was wonderful of you to foster special needs NICU graduate preemies. My hospital once had CNAs, but due to budget cuts they have since phased them out too so now we only have RNs in the NICU. They used to only work in the lower risk level 2 NICU and would assist the RNs with vitals, changing diapers, and bottle-feeding. I love NICU so I am not really sure what you mean by the cons lol. I guess the only pearls of wisdom to offer is to be pro-active and don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions, especially if you are unfamiliar with something or a baby isn't looking, acting right, etc. I know when we had CNAs, the RNs really appreciated their help. As far as seeking part-time employment goes, I would usually advise against it in the beginning when you are trying to get hired. The reason is because a hospital may prefer training someone who is going to be putting in more hours and sometimes orientations cater to full-time new grads which can take up to 6 months. However in your case and with your potential experience, you may be able to have an easier time starting off part-time, especially if you get hired to the same hospital. Nursing school is tough and I put way more time into studying and clinicals and attending classes than I have done even working overtime. You can always ask your employer after orientation to be moved to part-time. I have generally found that the bigger the NICU units, the more flexible the staffing.

Really? At my hospital the first thing they look at is contaminated IV lines and tend to want to blame the nurses for not following the protocol to keep them clean when broken into.

Didn't they cut the trial short for surfactant too due to the early dramatic improvements? All drugs take awhile before they are widely accepted and the uses are approved of. It is going to take years of studies on Avastin for ROP to make sure those receiving it aren't going to have any complications down the road, say when the patient is middle or old aged. Even cooling blanket use isn't widely accepted due to the still relative "newness" of the therapy and the risk-benefit analysis. NICU doctors are notorious for being stubborn when trying these new therapies.

LOL I think we turned this thread from anyone familiar with the zaky to anyone familiar with the z-flow! I believe per the manufacturer that the z-flo is only supposed to last 1 month and then be disposed of. We are supposed to wean them off the z-flo at around 1500g when preemies are being transitioned to open cribs. There are of course exceptions to this rule for babies very sick and immobile or those that need that extra support. The downside to z-flos is that they can't be used for x-rays and some have claimed that they interfere with oscillators. I'm not sure if z-flos are to be used with humidity because sometimes they get this weird "stink" to them. Anyone else notice that?

At my hospital, the only difference between full-time and part-time status is that part-time receives no free life-insurance and they don't have to work as many week-end and holiday requirements. Instead of doing 3 12-hour shifts a week, part-time works 2 shifts. Since we get paid by the hour, you still get paid exactly in proportion to the amount of time worked. The only time it might be difficult to do part-time is starting out on orientation. Other than that, I have never heard of a co-worker having a hard time changing their status from full-time to part-time or vise-versa, but we are also a pretty good sized unit so that probably helps.

Most hospitals in a hurricane zone have plans for natural disasters. You can usually find these plans by just asking management. You want to bring non-perishable food and bottles of water, toiletries, linens, and some change of clothes. Some hospitals will let your kids stay with you at the hospital if you plan for them ahead of time. If you are working and the building takes structural damage, you listen to orders and be safe and there are always emergency crews to help evacuate if the situation becomes dire. It is nice that hurricanes usually have a few days warning. If you have a family to care for, it's a good idea to figure out an emergency plan so you don't wait until the last minute. To get things back to normal depends on what was damaged and how long it will take to repair. Sometimes electricity may be off for weeks, sometimes the water system is broken, and there is usually some water and wind damage. The best way to get back to normal is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best!

My co-workers with kids claim to see their family more with the 12-hour night-shifts than working days. On day-shift you leave for work before your kids are awake and by the time you come home past 7pm, the kids are generally getting ready for bed. If you work nights, you can come home and may see your kids off to school, or at least have dinner with them around 5pm before heading to your night-shift.

Wait the 2 days for results and try to distract yourself as much as you can to prevent thinking about the test.

Yep we have been doing this recently and it is going fine so far. And yes, the opthamologist does the procedure! The nurses are left with a lot of round the clock eye-drop meds to administer.

OK great, that would be your best opportunity! The managers are probably going to be the ones with the most say in who gets hired so if you can get their contacts that would help. Be sure to make the best impression during your NICU clinicals and ask a couple NICU nurses that you shadow with if they would be interested in writing a reference for your application. Does the hospital you go to have a new grad program?

Does your school offer any clinical opportunities to work in a NICU? I didn't go to school in Houston, but those students who did extended clinicals in a NICU definitely had an upper hand in the hiring process. I knew of 2 NICU nursing techs in school, but they only got their job through having a family member working in the NICU too. Good luck!

Yes, we have had a few parents purchase zakys for their babies in the NICU. I like them a lot and think it is very comforting for the babies and helps with positioning. It is basically a beanbag shaped like a hand and arm and come in a bunch of colors. They are kinda on the expensive side. To be honest though, mom can sleep with any type of cloth to leave her scent on for the baby. Many mom's will use our burp cloths and we just place a sticker on them so other nurses know not to toss them away in the laundry. Another great gift idea are those pacifiers attached to a little stuffed animal. The reason I like them so much is that it makes the pacifier much easier to stay in the babies' mouth. A lot of babies love their pacifiers, but sometimes it takes a lot of work to keep them from constantly falling out without someone holding the pacifier for them.

Yes, it is true. I met my manager for the first time at a job fair. If you are a nursing student in clinicals, that's also another way to meet the manager on the unit. Networking with other nurses always helps too. ETA: By the way, I still went through the proper HR channels to send in my application, etc. I do believe that meeting my manager prior to the application helped me get an interview spot and then the position.

I'm no psychologist, but are you really keeping your son's best interest in mind with this move? He has Asperger's and even though you enjoy moving and changing, it could have negative effects on him since I know children, especially one's with special needs, crave routine and stability. He already has family where you live and his weekly play groups. Moving away may cause him more trouble in his therapy and social interactions. So you are just planning to find complete strangers to take care of your son while you work because YOU wanted change?

Just curious.... so why are you leaving your son's father and grandmother to move 4 hours away where you know nobody? I knew a coworker who was single and also worked weekend nights. Her neighbor would watch her kids on the weekends in exchange for her watching her neighbor's kids during the week. It helped that the kids were friends and close in age.

Really webcam use? Is that what I think it is and parents can access a webpage to see 24/7 video of their baby? If that's the case, I don't see that happening. I can't imagine all the problems that would cause. I don't think parents want to tune in and see their baby being poked for an iv or lab. I can already see parents calling asking why their baby is crying or continually asking what exactly we were just doing to their baby. Maybe if the babies are the "feeder grower" types the parents could benefit, but definitely not for the more critical patients.

I personally think it's human nature for people to assume other people are going to keep trying to continue to move up on the ladder instead of just enjoying where they are now. As soon as I finished my bsn, my family kept wanting to know when I am going to pursue my master's degree. I am very happy "just" being a bedside nurse, but there are always people asking what my next career plans are. Same with me and my hubby, it took six years to get engaged, and then 3 years to get married. Now my friends and family keep asking when we are going to have kids? Ahhhh! So no I am not insulted (just a little annoyed), so be happy where you are now and if you want something new, change it on your own time. :)

I think icu and nursery or mother/baby units would be the best second choices for experience towards NICU. Like another poster mentioned, icu gives you those critical thinking skills so you learn how to act quick on your feet and are familiar with ventilators, lab values, and unstable patients. Well baby nursery or mother/baby units will help you in time-management skills and have a good baseline for what a "normal" newborn is and standard medical care. It also helps with the mother-baby bonding experience. Good luck!