Some advice from the peds nurses please

A&OxNone, MSN, RN · Dec 17, 2015

The best CNAs I have had on the floor do this - help me keep up with intake and output, don't mind changing diapers, and tell me when something is abnormal (vital signs wise).

Babies are eating and peeing all the time. Keeping up with accurate I&O is just amazing for my CNA to help me do, because I may not see every bottle a baby takes. Also, most places have a policy about diaper dermatitis and how often the babies are to be changed. It drives me crazy if in the middle of the night, my CNA goes in and wakes up a kid to get vitals, but doesn't also change their diaper (cuz' that means I have to wake them up again!).

And lastly, it's always great if you communicate whats going on with vital signs. Like,"Room 12s blood pressure was really high but they were crying, do you have a chance to go retake it in a few minutes or do you need me to?" or whatever. Whats so frustrating is when the CNA charts that BP, doesn't put a note that the baby was crying, and then I see it in an hour and it looks like I never did anything about it.

That's my advice, anyways. Good luck!

smartassmommy · Dec 22, 2015

Thank you. I will definitely be keeping these things in mind during orientation.