slw326

I've been a NICU nurse for just over 3 years now and still often think about some great advice from when I started: 1. It will take at least 2 years to start to feel comfortable. 2. You SHOULD have a healthy level of nervousness at work. We go to high-risk deliveries and take care of fragile little lives that can take a turn for the worst in a second!! A little bit of anxiety will keep you on your toes. If you're not scared at all then something is wrong. 3. We worry more about new NICU nurses that don't ask questions - you'll be experiencing things you've never seen before for years! The NICU is truly a team environment and your co-workers should treat it as such. Don't be afraid to ask for help or admit you don't know something. It's such a rewarding and exciting place - hang in there. Best of luck!

All of our moms must label bottles so we can scan them! Nurses get in serious trouble for feeding breastmilk without scanning.

I agree that you should see what the needs of that specific unit are, but can give you some suggestions on what we have looked into recently in our 44-bed level IV NICU: - Using donor breast milk (a GREAT topic, but can be difficult and expensive to implement) - Promoting kangaroo care, especially to include dads! - Midline head positioning in babies less than 1500 grams to reduce the incidence of IVH Also with the worsening opioid crisis it could be interesting to pick some non-pharmacologic interventions to try to reduce NAS scores in withdrawal babies. Best of luck!

1. Not everyone will understand a nurse's sense of humor. 2. It's always a good time for breakfast when you work night shift. 3. No matter how much you've slept during the day, you'll hit a wall at 3am. Sometimes that wall hits back with an admission or two at just the right time. 4. You never know what you'll find in the washing machine after a load of scrubs. 5. We have the most challenging and rewarding job imaginable.

I still haven't heard either way! Anyone else not get an email?

I'm glad someone started this thread.. I'm waiting patiently too! Hopefully we'll hear something soon :)