hikernurse

hikernurse

NICU

Member
  • Content

    1,302
  • Visitors

    11,304
  • Followers

    0
  • Likes

    14

All Content by hikernurse

  1. Does anyone else like working night shift besides me?

    I work my three twelves in a row (the same days each week) and plan on either sleeping or working for that 60 hours. Then I have the rest of the week to be awake during the days with my family. It...
  2. frequency of linen changes in the NICU

    Linen down to the mattress gets changed 3X a week and when soiled. Some sweaty little guys get changed each shift. Isolettes are changed out weekly. Our techs stay on top of cleaning cribs, etc. so...
  3. AT ISSUE: What is the culture of your floor?

    I have friends who work in other ICUs and their experience is different. Maybe because we work with babies, I dunno. The managers really stress teamwork and how it makes it easier for everyone and...
  4. Nursing school made me fat!!!

    Under "Health and Stress Management 101" there is a section called "Healthier Living". There are a lot of nurses who visit that forum for support and ideas. Try us out! :) I gained weight in NS,...
  5. AT ISSUE: What is the culture of your floor?

    Maybe the new nurse just wasn't sure where to go with things? We have a great unit, too. People are very willing to jump in and do what needs to be done. We usually have 2-3 nurses in a room...
  6. College & Motherhood

    I've got a bunch of kids and always had a baby in my arms as I studied; from pre-reqs to nursing school. It is doable, but I found I had to make some tough decisions. My husband, too, worked long...
  7. I didn't think I had the right to join until I had been accepted into nursing school--but as soon as I got that acceptance letter, I joined right away (after I called my DH and mom, of course
  8. What's interesting is at the psych hospital where I did my clinicals a couple of years ago, patients wore scrubs (staff wore street clothes) and the patients had to earn the right to wear their own...
  9. LPN Information or rumor: Is this true?

    I got a job in a hospital without a lot of trouble; what helped, though, was that I already worked there as a CNA. I do think hospital jobs are harder walk into. They have been phasing out LPNs...
  10. For all current or past CNAs please answer my ?'s

    Having worked as a CNA and with CNAs as a nurse, the most important thing I can think to impress on your students is the importance of good communication. They are the eyes and ears of the nurse a...
  11. Have you talked to a lawyer? They would have a better idea of where to go with this. Since you're forced to wait another couple of weeks, can't you attend class, even unofficially until a decision...
  12. inside the mind of a nurse.....

    Another thing, I have absolutely no compunction about asking people very personal questions. I've gotten used to it with patients and it ends up spilling over into my real life . Funny thing is,...
  13. inside the mind of a nurse.....

    Just this morning I saw a man smoking as he crossed the street in front of my car. My first thought was, "Good thing he's wearing gloves; his microcirculation is no doubt shot." Yep, I'm always...
  14. New to NICU - hired part time?

    We have to commit to a year of full-time, but after that, the managers are pretty good at letting anyone go part-time who wants to. A lot of the nurses have babies or go back to school and...
  15. Sleeping

    Lots of nurses in my unit sleep on the couches in the break room during their hour break. The break room is in the middle of the unit and the sleepers take their walkie-talkies with them. Frankly, I...
  16. Is it just me...

    Heck, I can't keep all the balls up in the air even at work, never mind in my whole life. When I was going through a particularly difficult period a few years ago, I did a lot of soul-searching....
  17. starch?

    I don't even starch my husband's dress shirts--a better wife might, LOL, but not me :). I don't find scrubs ever get wrinkled enough to iron. I'm with Commuter about ironing; any wrinkle that...
  18. Who here works overtime for the extra cash?

    Double time is too tempting to pass up sometimes, but I don't do it a whole lot. I've got little ones and sometimes the price of being away is too high to pay. If I didn't have a family at home, I...
  19. breastfeeding woes

    I think a lot of first-time moms don't realize there is going to be a steep learning curve for both her and baby. I know I kind of assumed knowing how to breastfeed was something that magically...
  20. Need some ideas

    Heads up? This isn't going to come out well since I can't remember the whole neuro test and my neonate patients aren't that great at following orders, LOL...But maybe list the things that patients...
  21. Flu shots for your kids??

    I do. A few years ago we had several children in our town die of the flu; regular healthy kids. The shots are free and I had to go in myself. I also don't want to take flu germs riding on my...
  22. x-mas gift ideas for nursing staff

    Is there a cd player? We couldn't do much with music during the day, but we sure did (quietly played, of course, ) at night. Cute pens? Someone once dropped off some very nice lanyards, that was...
  23. Sleep Deprivation & Clinical

    The hotel idea is a good one--several students did that when the hospital was far from their homes, esp. in the winter. Plus, no early morning storm surprises. Are the other students having...
  24. Actually, in our area, both are almost easier to get into as a new grad. Both areas have extensive orientation and preceptorships. I'd call the nurse manager of a unit you want to work on and talk...
  25. New Grad already Unsure

    You may be overthinking things a bit. You've got a good knowledge base to take the test with, now focus on calming yourself down (easy enough to say, I know) and don't think too hard about the test....