TeenyTinyBabyRN BSN, RN

I work at a Level 4 NICU, in a pediatric hospital. Right now, skin care is a hot topic, for the whole hospital. Whenever we have a new initiative, we are expected to follow suit, whether or not it really applies to our unit. Part of the new crite...

We had not started implementing this policy, but we were told that we would have to start soon. There was no evidence based practice that supported this (for neonates). It was something that they were trying to push for the whole hospital, not tak...

THANK YOU so much for the articles you posted! Very valuable/helpful information to pass along.

YAY! Due to so much resistance from our staff, it has been decided that we only need to turn our babies, WITH ASSESSMENTS! As is was, it is, and may it forever be! Thank you for everyone's comments and suggestions! It sounded crazy to me and eve...

We already do all of these things, except we are trying to switch from duoderm to Pink skin care products, although we keep getting educated on them, but never have them on stock. We use the Tortoise mattresses, instead of Z-Flo, but they seem like ...

Trying to get the docs and NNPs involved is a great idea! Thanks! Unfortunately, our management is just going along with it, but our manager is not from an NICU background.

We already do all of these things, except we are trying to switch from duoderm to Pink skin care products, although we keep getting educated on them, but never have them on stock. We use the Tortoise mattresses, instead of Z-Flo, but they seem like...

I work in a NICU and we commonly see patients with Chlorhexidine sensitivity/allergies. We typically see it on our older babies (6+ months old) that have had a central line their entire lives.

We are supposed to evaluate patients before and after giving a PRN medication. Right now we only use CRIES and PIPPS scores, but we can only use them to evaluate pain and pain medication effectiveness and cannot use them for our "agitation" medicati...

LOL. at first glance, I though BPD was Bronchopulmonay Dysplasia. Also abbreviated BPD. We refer to our "BPD" kids as "BPD-ers." Funny how differnt abbreviations can mean different things, from one branch of nursing to another.

We need an order for it, although it does not need to be ckecked off with another RN. Never gut kids or NPO kids. We most commonly use it for eye exams and LP's (painful procedures), and one in a while for IV starts.

I knew Dr. Frank didn't have a heart! Now we have proof!

I think some people are getting waaaaay to hung up on the word tyrant. From wikipedia, "A TYRANT in its modern English usage, is a ruler of a cruel and oppressive character who is an absolute ruler unrestrained by law or constitution, and/or who has ...

TraumaSurfer, it sounds to me that, you have never worked in a NICU. Things in a NICU are very different from the adult world. Things like "minimal stimulation" and "hands on q 6" are very important in the NICU world. Sleep and rest is one of the ...

RNC is a cerification from the National Certification Corporation. They offer certifications in different specialties (Inpatient Obstetric Nursing, Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing, Low Risk Neonatal Nursing, and Maternal Newborn nursing). Mine is a...

About a year ago, I was at a Star Bucks studing for my RNC certification exam. The toaster oven alarm sounds just like our difibrillator powering on, and I almost bounded over the counter to get to the "code" I was instinctively responding to. I th...

Let me just say, I would not want to work with a new nurse who is not afraid. A healthy dose of fear makes us careful. I can honestly say, I didn't learn how to really be a nurse until after I graduated and started working. Just try to find a job ...

By the way, I am not trying to offend new nurses. Not all nurses come into the job with the "student complex." There are just a handful that come in thinking that since they passed their boards, they now know everything there is to know about nursi...

Wow, just wow. I can't believe alyn918's comment. Poor Bortaz comes here with his heart on his sleeve, and that's the response he gets? We all have nick names for conditions, meds, situations. Sometimes it is just tedious to say the whole word (e...

I was bagging a 30 weeker at delivery, when the father walks over, looks at the baby's genitals, totally unconcerned with the recusitation efforts and says, "UGH! When are you going to circ him?" Priorities seem a little out of whack. Is that what...

Bill, I told you I wanted the large coffee. Now how is that tiny thing going to last me all night?

The loading dose for Caffeine Citrate is 25 mg/kg, so your going to need a bigger mug.

Check out NICU Solutions. Put it in google to find the website (this computer won't let me copy and paste for some reason). Excellent class and book. You will have to see if they are having classes anywhere near you. If not, it may be worth it to...

The first horpital I worked at was a delivery hospital, where I would occasionally get floated to nursey. I have never run around in NICU, like I have run around in Nursey (Ussually when you have a super sick kiddo, you are mostly standing at his be...

Are any other NICUs out there experiencing a higher than normal census? About a year ago we were very slow, 10-15 kiddos. We are comfortabley staffed for about 25 babies, which gives us a little wiggle room. We used to only have a 2:1 ratio becaus...