Thoughts on being a "baby nurse"

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

Our hospital has decided that the dedicated baby nurse should be a NICU person ( alrighty), fine whatever, I personally don't like L/D but if I have to go I have to go. We are scheduled over there for 8 hours. We got a 4 hour "orientation" in what we have to do. Fine. Obs the kid skin to skin with mom for an hour, call the NICU fellow if Jr is acting up.

Reality check....I was over there and they had me bouncing from one room to another....8 deliveries! Never finished up with one kid, they tried to make me take a fetal demises ( uh no, I take care of living babies) and then they told me I should be drawing cord bloods! Uhhh , again, no, I've never seen it done, don't know the protocol and again, I am there to take care of the baby! I feel like they are using us as a scut puppy!

Do you guys have a dedicated baby nurse? Guidelines? I put up a stink about putting together a guideline and what we are supposed to do! And when I reviewed their routine baby protocol it was pretty outdated!

[klone, MSN, RN]

Wherever I have been, the baby admit nurse has always been someone from L&D/Mom-baby. The only time we ever see NICU is if it's a complicated delivery (mec, vacuum or forceps, just a crappy strip at the end, or for C/S). I don't agree with NICU doing the admit/transition. For one thing, I think that a M/B nurse has more training and experience to get a baby to the breast.

I can't believe they tried to pawn off an IUFD on you! Wherever I have been, that has been strictly the L&D nurse's job, or the charge nurse of L&D. Drawing cord blood - do you mean blood gases? That has always been the purview of the L&D charge as well, or another set of hands in L&D. I don't think I've ever asked or expected the NICU to do that - when they're at deliveries, they're too busy taking care of the baby to draw gases!

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

Our neonatel assessment nurses ( your baby nurse) are usually from labor/Delivery and NICU. Our mother/baby unit has a baby nurse in the NBN but we usually only get babies that need further monitoring or lab work. NICU nurses usually hate being the neonatel assessment nurse due to all the reasons you described. It is a overwhelming especially without training.

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

Thanks guys...Myself and another nurse are sitting down with them and setting guidelines. I haven't set foot in L/D in 28 years! Today they tried to get one of the girls to do mom stuff....no no no!!! It is nuts!! Intold the one girl, " okay now you come to my unit and function and know where everything is after 4 hours". She got my point.