champagnesupeRNova

On my unit, this would not be an appropriate assignment. They would pair #1 and #3 together - it would not be a triple. Don't feel bad - anyone would be busy in that type of assignment!

-The incidence of BPD (Bronchopulmonary dysplasia) in infants born prematurely (and most likely previously ventilated) -Necrotizing enterocolitis in premature babies -Use of oral sucrose prior to minor painful procedures in the NICU (When I was a nur...

$350 one-time bonus. Exam fees and certification review class paid for.

That is crazy, against evidence based practice for the NICU setting, and I would not participate in it. Our hospital does not expect NICU/PICU to follow positioning recommendations that are based on the adult population. I am actually mad for you. ...

"There's no way I'm paying any crazy co-pays! I Googled how to do this surgery and won't be needing you."

Better scheduling and handling of holidays & weekends for work/life balance

Overall, it sounds like you did really well considering you are a month off orientation! I think it was irresponsible of your unit to expect you to handle a 28-weeker delivery, especially when you were just off of orientation. Even the seasoned nurse...

"For Christmas this year I'm going to need 6 weeks paid vacation, 2 hour lunch breaks, and helicopter transport to work. I'm sure we can come to an agreement, can't we?"

"So I hear you're the one who decided to put prescription drug ad pens in our stockings last year."

It just depends on the unit. On our unit, managers are pretty flexible when it comes to weddings/honeymoons. They're not HAPPY about giving extended time off, but they know it's an important life event. One of the girls that just got hired on our uni...

I don't understand why people get so worked up every time a student asks questions for an interview or a homework question. Just IGNORE IT and move on if it bothers you so much. Pages and pages of useless commentary...

Baby in our NICU born with 2 natal teeth. One day the nurse noticed that one was missing. Found the tooth on x-ray in the stomach! Amazing that she didn't aspirate or choke.

We place them in side-lying position against the parents' chests.

How is it even possible to do prone with the head midline?

We've had our small, digital scales stolen a couple times. We use them to weigh infants' diapers. Presumably they are the same type of scale that dealers use to weigh drugs.

Yup, this is the ultimate paradox of a 12-hour shift/every other weekend schedule. I feel you. But I also would never go back to working 8-hour days/5 days a week - sucked the life out of me.

I LOVE re-taping ETTs. I know that sounds weird, but nothing is more satisfying than when your baby is constantly de-satting, then you re-tape their ETT and you can magically wean their FiO2 considerably. Also: -IV starts and drawing cultures -Givin...

I'm surprised how many places do scheduled routine assessment times. In my NICU, we have either q2, q3, or--rarely and only for the bigger kids--q4 assessment/feeding times. Most are q3. The babies that are almost going home are on a "demand" schedul...

Another point worth mentioning is that in the US--or at least where I live--a pregnant woman does not see her OB until she is already 8 weeks pregnant (barring any complications). By that time, she is 2/3 done with her first trimester, which is the m...

I had $26k in loans and paid $500/month to pay it off quickly. I also made larger payments some months when I had extra. It was 4 different loans, so I would always pay a lot more towards the one that had the higher interest rate, then when that one ...

NICU is just a completely different world than what parents are used to. They often interpret many of their baby's cues wrongly (i.e. seeing the baby splay out their hands - "they need to stretch out" or repeated yawning from the baby "he's so sleepy...

"My husband got sick of me bring home germs from work so he installed this decontamination shower. Pun intended."

I think if you had posted this in the NICU forum, the responses would have been different because as a NICU nurse, I totally get what you're talking about. I have worked with a few "senior" nurses like this (not exactly, but mostly) that went about t...

Eat "breakfast" when you wake up (in your case, 2pm). Eat a snack in the car or in the report room before your shift. Eat "lunch" anytime between 11-2am. Eat a snack sometime between 4-6am. Eat a larger snack at home before going to sleep. Keep nuts ...

What is wrong with you guys? I'm sorry this happened to you, OP. The chance of transmission is very, very low (I think about 0.25%). Sending good vibes your way.