Nursing like a motherfucking adult!
No, not really, but kind of close. ;)
So I survived my set week as a preceptor in the neonatal ICU AKA baby intensive care AKA NICU. One set = 2 12-hour day-shifts from 0700-1900, & 2 12-hour night-shifts from 1900-0700. Now I've worked full sets before in my general preceptorship at an adult medical ward & as an employed student nurse but you're allowed to have the full 2-hour break in one chunk. A 90-minute nap, bathroom & snacking and it's great.
You can't do that in the NICU. I get 2 1-hour breaks, maybe 3 if it's not crazy. By the time I go to the bathroom and settle into the uncomfortable recliner couch, I have 45 minutes left. It takes me about 10-15 minutes to actually fall asleep. So that means a 35-minute nap at best. On a recliner couch that won't stay reclined because I'm too short to maintain the weight on the backrest so I end up sliding into foetal position somewhere between the foot-rest and seat halfway through. Ugh. These breaks need to be more organized so we can actually stretch across the couches. Or maybe invest in IKEA bunk beds or something.
The work itself is tonnes of fun & quite familiar so far because of my previous work in paediatrics. Knowing this, my preceptor totally threw me into the mix ASAP. Most of the babies are so very tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny, even the ones I can currently care for who aren't on ventilators or CPAP. So far my patients have been 1400 grams, 1500 grams, and 1700 grams; they were all born under 1000 grams. I think one of them was born at 27 weeks, weighing 850 grams. EIGHT HUNDRED FIFTY GRAMS. That's 1 lb 13oz. GAIZ, I HAVE HAD APPLES LARGER THAN THAT BIRTH WEIGHT.
Also, I tried to put in an NG tube in a baby boy. And failed. BADLY. In retaliation, he puked very much. Then his twin sister, who's the smaller but feistier one, avenged his pain by projectile pooing ALL. OVER. HER. INCUBATOR. I swear, she lost 1/3 of her weight in projectile poo. And then when I thought she was done & covered her with a new diaper, she POOED AGAIN. AND AGAIN. This baby has wrath. People who have no had babies and/or baby experience always get surprised by projectile pooping. Imagine the puking scene in The Exorcist. Now picture it coming out of a tiny bum with JUST as much force. As for what it looks like: imagine equal parts smooth & coarse mustard mixed with a half-part of water. Now picture this ALL OVER AN INCUBATOR.
Yeah.
I also watched a newly admitted set of twins get fitted & inserted with CPAPs and given surfactant. Surfactant is a detergent-type fluid which normally coats the air sacs in the lungs. This ensures that they stay inflated instead of collapsing and stickign together like a water balloon with the water & air poured out. They use a LOT of it & to ensure it coats everything, the doctor & respiratory therapist had to shift the baby from side to side like someone swishing oil around a pan. Then because it's a detergent, when the baby breathes out the excess, she breathed it out in bubbles like a rabid dog. CUTEST THING EVER.
Okay, /nerd.
So I survived my set week as a preceptor in the neonatal ICU AKA baby intensive care AKA NICU. One set = 2 12-hour day-shifts from 0700-1900, & 2 12-hour night-shifts from 1900-0700. Now I've worked full sets before in my general preceptorship at an adult medical ward & as an employed student nurse but you're allowed to have the full 2-hour break in one chunk. A 90-minute nap, bathroom & snacking and it's great.
You can't do that in the NICU. I get 2 1-hour breaks, maybe 3 if it's not crazy. By the time I go to the bathroom and settle into the uncomfortable recliner couch, I have 45 minutes left. It takes me about 10-15 minutes to actually fall asleep. So that means a 35-minute nap at best. On a recliner couch that won't stay reclined because I'm too short to maintain the weight on the backrest so I end up sliding into foetal position somewhere between the foot-rest and seat halfway through. Ugh. These breaks need to be more organized so we can actually stretch across the couches. Or maybe invest in IKEA bunk beds or something.
The work itself is tonnes of fun & quite familiar so far because of my previous work in paediatrics. Knowing this, my preceptor totally threw me into the mix ASAP. Most of the babies are so very tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny, even the ones I can currently care for who aren't on ventilators or CPAP. So far my patients have been 1400 grams, 1500 grams, and 1700 grams; they were all born under 1000 grams. I think one of them was born at 27 weeks, weighing 850 grams. EIGHT HUNDRED FIFTY GRAMS. That's 1 lb 13oz. GAIZ, I HAVE HAD APPLES LARGER THAN THAT BIRTH WEIGHT.
Also, I tried to put in an NG tube in a baby boy. And failed. BADLY. In retaliation, he puked very much. Then his twin sister, who's the smaller but feistier one, avenged his pain by projectile pooing ALL. OVER. HER. INCUBATOR. I swear, she lost 1/3 of her weight in projectile poo. And then when I thought she was done & covered her with a new diaper, she POOED AGAIN. AND AGAIN. This baby has wrath. People who have no had babies and/or baby experience always get surprised by projectile pooping. Imagine the puking scene in The Exorcist. Now picture it coming out of a tiny bum with JUST as much force. As for what it looks like: imagine equal parts smooth & coarse mustard mixed with a half-part of water. Now picture this ALL OVER AN INCUBATOR.
Yeah.
I also watched a newly admitted set of twins get fitted & inserted with CPAPs and given surfactant. Surfactant is a detergent-type fluid which normally coats the air sacs in the lungs. This ensures that they stay inflated instead of collapsing and stickign together like a water balloon with the water & air poured out. They use a LOT of it & to ensure it coats everything, the doctor & respiratory therapist had to shift the baby from side to side like someone swishing oil around a pan. Then because it's a detergent, when the baby breathes out the excess, she breathed it out in bubbles like a rabid dog. CUTEST THING EVER.
Okay, /nerd.