February 8th, 2011
Registered nurses are found in a wide variety of health care areas. If you are a registered nurse or pursuing a degree in nursing, numerous options are open to you, including pediatrics, geriatrics and women’s health. Check out a helpful list of specialties at allnurses.com.
Nursing in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) presents special challenges and opportunities as well as heartwarming rewards. While the majority of newborn infants are born healthy, more intense monitoring and care are sometimes necessary. A NICU features highly sophisticated equipment specially designed to care for critically-ill newborns in an environment that fosters healthy development.
In this post, we focus on the NICU nurses here at Howard County General Hospital. We’ve asked a small sampling of them to share their experiences to give you an inside look into caring for our youngest patients.
| Q1. | What are your main duties as part of the NICU team? |
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Answer: Care of all levels of NICU infants; implementation of the care plan; primary nursing.Answer: Assessment and care of newborn infants with illness from birth until discharge. Part of a multidisciplinary team including MDs, NNPs (Neonatal Nurse Practitioners), RTs (Respiratory Therapists), Social Work, Case Management and OT (Occupational Therapists), PT (Physical Therapists) and Speech therapists.
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| Q2. | What made you choose neonatal medicine? |
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Answer: I had always wanted to work in the pediatric population, but at the time when I was looking for a job in San Diego, there were no openings in Pediatrics. Therefore, I accepted a NICU position and can't imagine doing any other type of nursing!
Answer: Pediatric ICU was too sad. I enjoyed the differences in the neonate and the fact that some babies are more critically ill and challenging, but most survive our care. Their later outcomes are still of concern. I enjoy working with new parents.
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| Q3. | Do you find yourself taking some of the stress and emotions home with you? |
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Answer: At times you carry things home with you, but the support of my family and my very close co-workers have always gotten me through.
Answer: Not unless we have a really stressful day e.g. infant death, stillborn, fetal demise or if I feel that the team is working against each other. Self care including down time and a glass of wine!
Answer: I do not believe I take the stress home. I do ride home in silence in order to remove the sound of monitors and telephones that I constantly hear in the unit.
Answer: No. I have learned to leave work at work.
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| Q4. | When people NOT employed in the health care industry find out what you do for a living, what are some of the most common questions you are asked and how do you reply? |
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Answer: The question I hear the most is, "How can you care for those little babies?" I usually joke, "I am bigger than they are, I can take them." But it is fascinating to work with a brand new life, and to teach the parents what is going on with their babies.
Answer: "How can you handle such small patients? Don't you cry when they get very sick?" My answer is always, "Babies are always a joy to take care of. The sense of fulfillment is out of this world."
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| Q5. | Without revealing any patient details, please share a POSITIVE experience you've had while working in the NICU. |
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Answer: At a NICU Reunion, a parent came up to me and my daughter and told my daughter what an angel I was and what wonderful care I took of her daughter. When she left at night she was always reassured that her daughter was well cared for when I was there!
Answer: Our smallest and sickest babies come back a year or several years later with a big smile and a big hug! That is reward enough!!!! Parents don't forget the NICU nurse who took care of their child.
Answer: Seeing babies return for a visit or at a reunion. The last time I saw the baby, it may have been just 5 pounds. Now the baby is not a baby, but a laughing, running child!
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| Q6. | Please share any especially challenging experiences you've had while working in the NICU. |
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Answer: It's always challenging caring for the most critically ill of NICU infants. The worst in recent memory is a full term infant who passed away at birth. Any deaths in the NICU are difficult, but the most challenging for me have always been unexpected and full term deaths.
Answer: Letting the parents understand the gravity of their child's condition and the quality of life they will be facing in the future.
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| Q7. | What advice would you give to someone considering a career in neonatal medicine? |
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Answer: Love babies and parents. Be ready for sick and well care. Be gentle and enjoy teaching. Understand that you don't usually learn nursing care of the neonate in an undergrad program. Be a critical thinker and hone your assessment skills to pick up on the subtle clues in this population.
Answer: Start your NICU career in a large teaching hospital for at least one year to get daily experience with the variety of cases that NICUs handle.
Answer: My advice would be to remember that you are not just caring for the baby. There is a family that comes with the baby. Sometimes you spend just as much time caring for the parents as for the baby. You must have a love for children, be willing to learn something new everyday, and not impose your personal feelings onto others.
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Posted in Careers
December 10th, 2010
Are you a registered nurse or considering becoming one? Nursing offers many different health care areas in which you can specialize including critical care, anesthesia, pediatrics, geriatrics, and women’s health, just to name a few. Check out a helpful list of specialties at
allnurses.com.
Emergency nursing can be one of the most rewarding and one of the most challenging career paths. In this post, we focus on the emergency department nurses here at Howard County General Hospital. We’ve asked them to share their experiences as a way to give you an inside look into emergency nursing. The nurses surveyed include individuals with a wide range of experience and years of services, from 1 year up to 26 years. A sampling of their responses to our questions is featured below:
| Q1. | What are your main duties as part of the Emergency Department team? |
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Answer: Our goal is to work as a team in providing excellent care for the community. We frequently perform tasks as complex as life-saving CPR or as simple as holding a hand and listening to a patient’s concerns.
Answer: We provide patient assessments, medications, IV treatment, suctioning, triage, and advanced cardiac life support, as well as assist with various procedures for mediport access, feeding tubes, catheters, oxygen treatment, intubation, cardiac arrest emergencies.
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| Q2. | What made you choose emergency medicine? |
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Answer: I worked as a registered nurse and a tech in both Critical Care and a step-down unit. I enjoyed my experience on those units and wanted to be more well-rounded. In addition to using my critical care skills, I wanted to practice my medical/surgical skills and obstetric skills.
Answer: I was involved in a car accident my sophomore year of high school that was very traumatic to me. When I was in the ER, I watched all that was going on and became enthralled with medicine. I joined the local fire department and have been hooked ever since.
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| Q3. | Do you find yourself taking some of the stress and emotions home with you? |
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Answer: No, rarely to never. I leave the hospital and I am usually so busy when I get home I don't have the time to dwell on ER issues. Even when I have had a bad day, I know that I have made a difference in someone's life and that helps me always carry a positive attitude no matter what.Answer: I attempt to keep work at work and home issues at home. I handle stress with poetry and music, as well as deep breathing and relaxation exercises. Sometimes speaking with a co-worker about the day at the end of the shift is helpful. Answer: I have been able to leave most of the “ick” at work. I do take home mental exhaustion after a 12-hour shift, but I always keep clear focus on my boundaries. Work time is my profession and career. It supports real life which is the other 2/3 of my day. I have a very active family life as well as active participation as a performance artist/musician/writer/artist/bicyclist/kayaker/archer/skeetist/hiker/community activist and cloud watcher. I practice Zen Buddhism when it fits. Inner calm comes from knowing that I am exactly where I am needed at any given moment. I do go to the movies where I release any residual emotions.
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| Q4. | Please share a positive experience you've had while working in the ER. |
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Answer: I had a patient that I pulled out of a car in complete cardiac arrest. Three months later he came to visit me and brought me roses and said he wanted to "Thank God’s angel who swooped in to rescue me." I felt honored and amazed that he remembered me. I still run into him pretty regularly. It’s neat to see how he is doing.Answer: Holding a patient’s hand and comforting the family of an elderly patient while she was dying.
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| Q5. | Please share any especially challenging experiences you've had while working in the ER. |
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Answer: The hardest thing I have ever dealt with is breaking to someone that their loved one has died. I cry almost every time, just hearing them tell stories and memories and go through the rapid flash of emotions and denial and acceptance. It is especially hard if the death was sudden, traumatic, or a younger person. A little piece of me goes with those families when they leave here.
Answer: General themes have dealt with a patient's unrealistic expectation of wellness in the face of years of personal neglect. Then comes the subsequent belligerence and anger.
Answer: A patient spitting on me and telling me she was going to have someone kill me. Patients that come into the Emergency Room are stressed and in pain, so we have to give them the best treatment possible while also dealing with their emotions. It's just part of the job.
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| Q6. | What advice would you give to someone considering a career in emergency medicine? |
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Answer: Take a few days to shadow a nurse and really get the whole experience of the ER. This area can be very challenging and I feel that my own experience in ICU and on a step down unit was the best situation before coming to the ER; however, I also feel that if you are a tech in the ER you may be more in tune to the experience and be able to take on the role as a nurse before that of a new grad.Answer: Do not take things personally while taking things seriously. Balance hope with reality. Treat everyone as if they were you. Establish a reputation for excellence. Do not practice from the desk. Be prepared to work hard and exert a lot of energy. Also be prepared to make a difference in someone’s life. Don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions from other knowledgeable coworkers. Answer: A career in emergency nursing can be very challenging intellectually and emotionally and can cause burnout quicker than average. I recommend volunteering in an ER if you are considering it, or at the minimum working in some capacity in an ER while you are getting your education…you will get a fly-on-the-wall view of what we deal with every day and will better prepare you for your career. Answer: Go for it!
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Additional resources at HCGH:
Search for Careers at HCGH
Nursing Student PCT Training Program
New Graduate Nurse Orientation Program
RN Fellowship Program
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Posted in Careers