Being a PICU nurse, I've learned the harsh truth which is that some kids will die no matter how hard we try to save them. I'm so sorry you're going through this, but know that you did everything you...
katierobin23 replied to RNinCali15's topic in NICU, Neonatal
If a baby is having feeding issues and has an NG (even a term kid), I want to know what's in the stomach before I start, even if the baby is going to nipple. If he doesn't feed well, was it because he...
katierobin23 replied to allnurses's topic in General Nursing
I'm starting in the PICU at a large children's hospital on Monday and these cases are what scare me the most. I can only hope I am able to handle myself as you
katierobin23 replied to journey2success's topic in NICU, Neonatal
^^Everything that they said! The best advice I can give is to be a sponge! Take advantage of every learning opportunity and ask questions. I've found NICU nurses tend to be eager to help out newbies...
katierobin23 replied to mgturtle's topic in NICU, Neonatal
We just started using the Medelas, but our policy is to only change the liners when soiled or torn. Has any research been done to justify changing more frequently? Very curious to see if we're in the...
katierobin23 replied to meganec17's topic in General Nursing
We never even covered it. Very similar to what OP said, we were told that we would be trained on the job. I think it may have something to do with the location of the school...I went to nursing school...
katierobin23 replied to thejetsetnurse's topic in NICU, Neonatal
In my opinion, L&D will help you more. Mother/Baby is almost entirely healthy couplets, you'll need strong assessment skills to know when something is going wrong but for the most part your...
katierobin23 replied to rnkaytee's topic in NICU, Neonatal
We have Angel Eye cameras, they're still new so I can't speak to long term use issues but so far it hasn't been a problem. We were worried about the increased call volume but honestly, I think we've...
Very similar to NicuGal, we give a dose of fentanyl before intubation if it's not an emergent situation. Most kids on conventional ventilators don't get pain control, we use non-pharmacologic methods...
katierobin23 replied to countyERNICU's topic in NICU, Neonatal
We swab nares of every baby on admission and every 2 weeks. Any baby that comes up positive is on contact precautions until discharge. Any baby whose mom was positive is also on contact until...
We continue to feed if the feeds are 50ml/kg/day or less. Any more than that and they are NPO for 3 hours before and 8 hours after. We run blood over 3 hours, so the kid ends up on fluids (clears if...
katierobin23 replied to NICURN29's topic in NICU, Neonatal
We have a policy that says we can choose not to use leads on micropreemies with significant skin integrity issues. Those babies almost always have a UAC which we use in conjunction with the pulse ox...
katierobin23 replied to pwilkins90's topic in NICU, Neonatal
We have a small tackle box with syringes and 18g needles for drawing up meds, epi, narcan, bicarb, lot of saline, tape, and a kit for needle aspiration. Respiratory has their own box that's a little...