RN4BABES

I dream that as well. It actually happened about 25 years ago where I used to work- the baby was overlooked on the assignment and not until 4 hours into the shift when the baby was crying did anyone realize it was not assigned to anyone. Luckily it w...

In Canada, there are courses you can take to learn about the NICU....called Perinatal Intensive Care....post RN certificate program. In the unit I work in, we actually hire new grads with a fairly extensive orientation process (certificate is a plus ...

I would like to know who might have a policy for changing incubators. Where I work, we do it every 7 days but am always wondering if this is really necessary?? Has there ever been a study/investigation about this in your unit? Thanks for your input ...

yes, we always use filter needles when drawing meds from a glass ampule/vial then replace the needle.

what manufacturer? Who makes your incubators?

I went to the link about previous discussion on changing isolettes. We are not "allowed" to use those beloved Giraffes due to infection control reasons. Something to do with the humidity...of course we love those but the management is getting rid of ...

I am in my 18th year of NICU nursing (same unit) The memories of that first year are still pretty clear. I was petrified when I started....scared I would miss something, I hated answering the phone, I would shy away from the admission area in case I ...

This medical abbreviations game has made me howl with laughter. Good idea whoever started it. I have one for you all... DBOV (hint: I work in the NICU)

The odd time, we get parents who refuse to allow their prem to suck on a soother. Generally, the nurses in our unit feel that our babies are stressed enough in here and we believe the comfort they receive from sucking on a soother far outweighs ...

Oh, we don't buy that "nipple confusion" nonsense either but that's what we hear from the parents. I believe they hear it in their prenatal classes? Parents can be selfish at times. You would think that whatever gives their offspring comfort...they w...

Yes, I have heard that before. I respond: "I do it because I love it. It's not all sad. It is mostly very rewarding! Everyone has a calling and this is mine". People who don't know what we do or haven't been in an NICU, have no idea what we do...Su...

We use the BD Insytes. We have used them for so many years now...I have no idea what we used before but I remember when we switched there were some people who didn't like it but now we all do. Patience I guess.

Amazing how different things are everywhere. We use sucrose 25%, 0.5 ml to a max of BID for painful procedures. We certainly use it on intubated babies unless the particular baby is already on a drip of Fentanyl or the like. We follow the administ...

Pat on the back to you on a job well done. Situations like these and the fact that you handled it without quitting might be telling you that you are in the area you were meant to be! To hear from a doctor "congrats" is always encouraging!

Where/what is UHN? I have a couple of friends who were affected by that lay-off a few years back by HSC...it seemed more like they got rid of the "higher-paid" (top of the pay scale) nurses...the ones with experience vs. ones without degrees. Realist...

That was nice, thanks! Good luck in your career. You will have a bit of an advantage over most NICU nurses as you know how it feels to be on the "parent side".

Chocolate. Lots of chocolate! :chuckle Since I becamse a nurse and now a MOM ..I have no problem staying awake and I only do nights. I cannot read on nights as it puts me to sleep! The best thing is to be in a room/area with a fun bunch of nurses ...

I have been at "Women's College" ( part of Sunnybrook) for 16 years and love it. Sick Kid's is exciting but non-unionized. I have a few friends who have fled that scene...

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101076 Check out this thread and you'll see what draws us to the field! In Canada, you need to graduate nursing school (Diploma or degree) and then depending on the hospital, go through a good orientation...

Every shift, an assignment is made up by the charge nurse from the prior shift. The "admiting nurse" must possess the added nursing skills necessary to do admissions (ie. I.V's, NRP etc) Everyone usually rotates through the position and new people ar...

Unfortunately, our unit is a joke when it comes to dress code. I have seen nurses show up in track pants, sandals, skimpy tops, see through bottoms with g-string underwear, low rise scrubs in butts that are too big and scrub tops that don't cover the...

Wow, there sure is a big variety of policies out there! Our unit changes solutions, regardless of type, q 24 hours and all tubing q 48 hours (unless a solution changes and then we have to change the tubing at that time) The lipids/tubing come from ou...

We used to test pH but now we don't.We measure tip of nose to ear to xiphoid, insert and secure NG then put end of tube into bit of water to see if there are bubbles (I think we are the only ones who do this step) check for aspirate then check "pop" ...

We use corrected age. How often do you score babies and what is the population of babies (ie. on babies using analgesics or all babies??)

Anyone involved in HELLP (heat loss prevention.....) aka: baby in a baggie (on admission/birth) ?