edynjoy

Congrats to ya! Don't have any words of true words of wisdom for you.( I just started NICU myself ) The one thing that I can say is to be open-minded and prepare to learn. Everything that you thought you knew.....scratch that, and start with a clean slate...tabla rasa. Good Luck

What are you doing in your units to provide continuity of care? We are exploring the idea of a "team" or microsystem approach to care for our babies. This will go beyond "I want my same babies back tomorrow". Please elaborate! Thanks in advance;)

How many of you were able to chose your "area of interest" after OR orientation and what was "your special place" and why?

Thanks Monkeyman for your reply! From what I've been reading, with neuro, it's either you love it or hate it. I'm gravitating toward hate. I have learned alot in a short amount of time but I honestly am beginning to think that it is not a good area for me. The high point of me being there was catching a vasospasm at its initial stages...off to arteriogram we went, a little papavarine, and the pt is fine. However, it most cases that we see do not have positive outcomes. Nursing is a second career for me. I was used to M-F, 8-5 and I miss the interactions that I had with our customers. I'm also beginning to have ethical issues as well. The hospital that I work is a "teaching facility" and it can get very hairy when faced with interventions that make me question whether "we are prolonging life or prolonging death" and for whose benefit (sounds crazy...I know, but I hope that I'm making sense instead of what may appear as mindless rambling). All that said, I'm going to give it a little while longer.

Okay...so I'm new to nursing in NICU. Already I'm beginning to feel burned out. I can't say if it's new nurse blues (I've only been an RN since 8/05) or the fact that NICU may not be for me. I've already found myself looking for other job opportunities. While in school I externed in a Burn Unit and Transplant ICU. Perhaps I've had enough with poor prognoses and ICU environments. Did anyone else feel this way when they began....or is it just me? What did you do...where did you go? I have explored the idea of the problem being with staff/facility and have concluded that it is not them...it's me. Edynjoy