You Know You're a NICU Nurse When...

Specialties NICU

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Saw this on a Facebook group.... funny, but SO true...

You know you are a NICU nurse when...

1. You've eaten hamburger patties bigger than most of your patients

2. You define colors by the color of stool you've seen- i.e. baby poop green/yellow

3. You don't understand why talking about sticking a needle in a baby's head is making other people at the dinner table ill

4. At one time or another have had breast milk, poop or urine on your work clothes

5. You have affectionately called a patient cletus the fetus, wimpy white boy, troll or FLK (funny lookin' kid) in report

6. You can change your patient's bed linens with one hand while holding your patient in the other

7. You can make an IV arm board out of some 4x4 gauze and tape

8. You've almost caught your hair on fire while in your patient's bed...a.k.a. radiant warmer

9. You've used a sock or a piece of tape for a restraint

10. You check out the scalp veins, cap refill and fontanels on a friend's new baby

11. You use a cotton ball to obtain urine samples

12. You use saran wrap to keep your food fresh and your patient's warm

13. You think all crying babies need benadryl, versed or intubation

14. You think the pulse oximeter, CPAP and those crappy no sticking leads were created by the devil

15. You have ever shown a doctor a green residual while they were eating

16. You have obtained a 10cc residual when the patient only gets 1cc

17. You have put an intensive care patient in a swing

18. You don't get excited if your patient has a heart rate of 180

19. You do chest compressions with two fingers

20. Most of your meds come in TB/1cc syringes

21. You prepare your patient's bath water in a Dixie cup

22. You draw blood from your patient's heel

23. You use a rubber band for a tourniquet

24. You've seen two complexes on EKG screen and not been excited-you merely pat your patient on the butt and it's all good

25. Newborn babies look like preschoolers to you

26. You tell people what you do and they think you sit around and rock babies all day

27. When you tell people what you really do they start to cry and/or vomit

28. You have assisted with surgery on your patient in their bed and on the unit

29. You have at one time or another in the heat of frustration threatened to throw your patient in the trash can

30. You have considered using duct tape to hold a pacifier in a screaming baby's mouth

31. You have met your patient's father, mother's boyfriend, and husband all in one day

32. You have made a mental note that no matter how stupid people are they still know how to get their groove on

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11097554174

Specializes in NICU.
You know you're a NICU nurse when....the newborn sized sleeper you're staring at looks HUGE!!!

I know. We occasionally get term babies and I always wonder how something that huge could come out of a normal sized woman. Especially when looking at their head sizes, LOL.

Specializes in NICU.
I know. We occasionally get term babies and I always wonder how something that huge could come out of a normal sized woman. Especially when looking at their head sizes, LOL.

This is why I'm glad we don't actually go to deliveries at my hospital. It's just... upsetting. Episiotomy repair may actually be the worst thing I've ever seen. Needles + ladyparts = very squicked out Eliza.

Specializes in NICU.

Oh yeah, those big babies ...... like the little 6 pounder I took care of .... I kept thinking he was HUGE!

I get some kind of sick joy out of going to deliveries .... not that I like watching the actual delivery, I actually just hide over by the warmer and wait. But something about making a limp, blue baby cry and turn pink is pretty sweet! :D

Specializes in NICU.
This is why I'm glad we don't actually go to deliveries at my hospital. It's just... upsetting. Episiotomy repair may actually be the worst thing I've ever seen. Needles + ladyparts = very squicked out Eliza.

Now you know why new moms walk so darn funny...

And I agree with you on the needle part...:eek:.

Ew. I once had a booger land on my lip. I was using a bulb syringe and squirting the boogies out onto a piece of gauze, and one ricocheted off the gauze and right onto my lip. That was gross. You all know what kind of stuff you can get out of a kid's nose. It's amazing sometimes how they can even breathe!

Once another nurse was bending over her patient to suction his trach. She was talking away and he heaved a big ole wad of respiratory secretions straight into her mouth. Ewww...

I got a drop of partially digested breast milk in my eye yesterday when I was getting the air out of the syringe before refeeding the residual. Eww eww eww....

Did I tell you about a couple weeks ago, one of our big 8 month old chronics puked at least 50 ccs down my shirt, it went all the way down to my shoes.

I just have to resurrect this old thread to tell this story:

The other day I was standing across an open crib from a colleague chatting. She aspirated her kid's NGT prior to a feed. She was expelling the air from the syringe prior to refeeding the aspirate. And a drop just... flew out of the syringe and landed in my OPEN MOUTH.

Partially. Digested. Breast milk. In my mouth. First time I've actually vomited at work 2/2 something gross.

Eww eww eww....

Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).

Funny.....

if we worked with any other pt population, we'd be posting threads like "OMG, got xxx in my mouth/eye/etc... will I get AIDS??"

Specializes in Cardiac Nursing.
I have a friend who is always saying that she would love to have twins or triplets. I think she's nuts.

Why is it multiples make everyone go "awwww". To me, I don't know how anyone can handle that many.

I keep trying to get my BF to understand that quints is NOT a good thing, for me or the babies. I know he's joking, trying to jinx me into having them....twins already run in my family. I'm going to be working NICU so I just keep telling him....NO QUINTS.

Did I mention he wants a big family?

Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Rehab, NICU, Peds.
Saw this on a Facebook group.... funny, but SO true...

3. You don't understand why talking about sticking a needle in a baby's head is making other people at the dinner table ill

8. You've almost caught your hair on fire while in your patient's bed...a.k.a. radiant warmer

14. You think the pulse oximeter, CPAP and those crappy no sticking leads were created by the devil

25. Newborn babies look like preschoolers to you

26. You tell people what you do and they think you sit around and rock babies all day27. When you tell people what you really do they start to cry and/or vomit

Man, I sure can identify!! Especially those people who think you cuddle babies all day long - NOT!

Specializes in NICU, adult med-tele.

I got a drop of partially digested breast milk in my eye yesterday when I was getting the air out of the syringe before refeeding the residual. Eww eww eww....

AIDS and other bloodborne pathogens aside, I think I have ya'll beat.

Once I had a senior practicum student working with me and she was shooting the air out of a big ole 60 cc syringe full of Pregestmil and it squirted in my mouth. Pregestmil. In my mouth.:eek:

AIDS and other bloodborne pathogens aside, I think I have ya'll beat.

Once I had a senior practicum student working with me and she was shooting the air out of a big ole 60 cc syringe full of Pregestmil and it squirted in my mouth. Pregestmil. In my mouth.:eek:

Does it taste as bad as it smells?? :D

Specializes in midwifery, NICU.

You get such a satisfaction from catching "bogies!" so the wee ones can breathe easier!

And Pregestamil..oh yes its vile!

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