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Neonatal intensive care units
Neonatal intensive care units
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1. The neonatal intensive care unit clinical setting provided a calm and cooperative environment to ensure for the well-being and stability of the high acuity patients. The waiting area for the patient’s family was private with moderate lighting. The lighting throughout the unit varied depending on the stability and comfort of the neonate. Noises in the NICU were relatively low and the smells provided a clean fragrance. The temperature throughout the facility was comfortably warm and radiant warmers were provided to accustom to each patient’s thermoregulatory needs. Personal items for each patient were stored within their specific area and privacy was achieved using curtains. Artwork throughout the facility was pleasant and compliments the
The case study that I chose to focus my literature review on is concerning premature babies who developed Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC) from a milk thickener that was given to them while while was on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and which some babies were discharge home on. In one example of this occurrence, which I will use to guide my search for literature, the staff on the NICU had noticed that the baby’s heart rate slightly slowed down when he ate, so they thought that he was having difficulty feeding. To combat this difficulty the staff added a thickener, SimplyThick, to his feedings. When he was discharged home they gave the thickener to the parents to take home with them. Thickening foods makes them easier to swallow because it allows them to move more slowly in the mouth giving more time for a patient to close their airway, which can prevent aspiration (Queensland Health Dietitians, 2007). SimplyThick is a thickener made of Xanthan Gum, which is a substance commonly added to thicken foods for adults. There is a lack of information on how safe Xanthan Gum is for babies. SimplyThick was marketed to speech language pathologists as being easy to dissolve in breast milk as well as maintaining its consistency when mixed. These pathologists recommended SimplyThick as an additive to milk for babies with problems swallowing.
Education regarding unit or group thinking is to be encouraged and reinforced. The fact that newborn Rosarie will be entering the home poses unique challenges that will require all members of the family to work together. Maria, Jamie, and Alice must be educated on the signs and symptoms of respiratory distress in the newborn and interventions that must be initiated when distress occurs. The nurse responsible for this teaching must require both verbalization and return demonstration of skills learned to ensure proper reception of the information. Once skills are developed by the adults within the home, the remaining children should then be educated on the signs and symptoms as well and actively participate in care. Involving the entire family will bring a cohesive thinking, and allow the family to work as a unit. A marriage counseling referral should as be provided to Maria and Jamie in order for them to work out their existing issues improving their likelihood of a successful marriage. Routine “check in’s” (phone calls, visits, etc.) should be in place for the family both by social services and pediatricians. In addition, community outreach programs (food banks, cultural organizations, etc.) are designed to support families like the Perez’s, nurses working within the community should tell these families about these resources
1. What is the difference between a. and a. Which K, S, and A pertain to the care you provided to the patient you have chosen? Why do you need to be a member? K- Describe the limits and boundaries of therapeutic patient-centered care. S- Assess levels of physical and emotional comfort.
Nurses play a big role in supporting the parents while their child is in the NICU. Showing compassion and demonstrating caring actions when caring for the patient makes it more likely that the parents will trust the nurse and the information the nurse gives them regarding their child’s condition. This trust is important as it helps the parents feel confident in the decisions they are making about their child’s care. When the parents of an ill child in the NICU have decided to terminate treatment palliative care by the nurse and other healthcare providers comes into play. Palliative care is keeping the child comfortable by treating the symptoms and being there for the parents and child physically, emotionally, and spiritually (Eden & Callister, 2010).
Neonatal nursing is a field of nursing designed especially for both newborns and infants up to 28 days old. The term neonatal comes from neo, "new", and natal, "pertaining to birth or origin”. Neonatal nurses are a vital part of the neonatal care team. These are trained professionals who concentrate on ensuring that the newborn infants under their care are able to survive whatever potential life threatening event they encounter. They treat infants that are born with a variety of life threatening issues that include instances of prematurity, congenital birth defects, surgery related problems, cardiac malformations, severe burns, or acute infection. Neonatal care in hospitals was always done by the nursing staff but it did not officially become a specialized medical field until well into 1960s. This was due to the numerous advancements in both medical care training and related technology that allowed for the improved treatment and survival rate of premature babies. According to the March of Dimes, one of every thirteen babies born in the United States annually suffers from low birth weight. This is a leading cause in 65% of infant deaths. Therefore, nurses play a very important role in providing round the clock care for these infants, those born with birth defects or other life threatening illness. In addition, these nurses also tend to healthy babies while their mothers recover from the birthing process. Prior to the advent of this specialized nursing field at risk newborn infants were mostly cared for by obstetricians and midwives who had limited resources to help them survive (Meeks 3).
Mphahlele, R. R. (2007). Caring for premature babies - a clinical guide for nurses. Professional Nursing Today, 11(1), 40-46.
Some of the patients had children, which really broke my heart because I have kids and I couldn’t imagine being away from them for any period of time. In relation to the lecture content covered in this week’s lectures, I felt they related to clinical when describing the layout and description of the milieu. For example, I was able to see how the doors were securely locked, and the nursing station was behind an encasement called a bubble. In addition, we discussed the different type of therapies that were conducted on the floor.
Gallagher, K., Marlow, N., Edgley, A., & Porock, D. (2012). The attitudes of neonatal nurses towards extremely preterm infants. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 68(8), 1768-1779. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05865.x
There are more than 70% of premature babies that are born between 34 and 36 weeks gestation a year. When a baby is born early, or born with birth defects, the Neonatal Intensive Care unit is its first home. The nurse’s in the NICU have the difficult job of preparing baby’s and parents for a health life together. A baby who has been put into the NICU will stay there until it is healthy enough to go home.
The human infant is called a neonate who is less than 28 days old. (Potter, Perry, Ross-Kerr, & Wood, 2009, p. 333) The newborn goes through mostly reflex changes during this critical time which leads to bonding and deep attachments between the parents and the neonate during the first 28 days. The neonate I worked with was 18 days old, male, Muslim, goes by the initials MK and lived in a townhouse with his parents. During birth, the family requested as many female staff as possible due to religious reasons.
When we think of the NICU environment, we must first think of the newborn infant coping with health issues, a stressful and stimulating environment, and an unnatural separation from the mother and the father. In addition to attending to the infants medical need, its essential that we work towards alleviating the discomfort that the baby might feel by facilitating physical and emotional closeness between the baby and his or her parents. Bonds between parents and the infant are among the most enduring, fundamental aspects of human experience. Premature births, or any other health conditions that result in NICU hospitalization, can disrupt the natural attachment process. As nurses, we have the incredible opportunity to be the facilitators of bonding
The next time I walked into a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was as a fourth year medical student. This time not as a spectator, but as a medical professional expec...
At the Dekalb Medical Center at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Heel Stick, a small procedure used to measure blood glucose (BG) by pricking the heel, is often performed on newborns (Vedder, & Sawyer, 2015). Also, at the Special Care Nursery (SCN), the Accu-Chek, a hand-held device that calculates the BG level is performed to check the BG level of neonates. In exposure to these two methods of BG intake, the accuracy in analyzing BG in both tests is of interest. Through research and review of literature, this paper will explore the methodology and accuracy of both BG tests and describe why this variety exists.
A newlywed couple is expecting their first child. In her seventh month of pregnancy, the mother is driving to her doctor’s appointment. All of the sudden, she is hit on the driver’s side. She is unconscious and quickly rushed to the hospital. The doctor examines her; her placenta is ruptured. The doctor contacts the father for consent of the emergency caesarean section since the mother is incapacitated. The mother and child are in fatal danger if the doctor does not move quickly. The father consents to the surgery. Once the father arrives at the hospital, he is not allowed in the operating room. As he waits, the doctor comes out and tells him of his child’s birth. However, there were complications, so the child was in the Neonatal Intensive
This week’s clinical experience has been unlike any other. I went onto the unit knowing that I needed to be more independent and found myself to be both scared and intimidated. However, having the patients I did made my first mother baby clinical an exciting experience. I was able to create connections between what I saw on the unit and the theory we learned in lectures. In addition, I was able to see tricks other nurses on the unit have when providing care, and where others went wrong. Being aware of this enabled me to see the areas of mother baby nursing I understood and areas I need to further research to become a better nurse.