In the NICU there are many nurses and many babies. Each night one comes to work, they get assigned different patients depending on how sick the infants are and where the managers need different nurses based also on skills and experience. One thing that has been in place in both NICUs I have worked in is a program or policy for continuity of care - primaries or associates. This is where nurses volunteer to care for certain infants throughout their stay in the NICU. There are different reasons that nurses sign-up to be a primary nurse for an infant but often there is a an attachment to the infant and hopefully the family as well.
During my time as a NICU nurse, I have had several primaries and loved each one in my own way. They all had different lengths of stay in the NICU, but all have been premature. They all came from very different families and each one was special. Each NICU nurse has his/her own reasons for choosing to bring a baby into their hearts as their primary but each time it enriches your life. Sometimes it is a long road with many trials and bumps but we always learn from our little babies.
When a nurse becomes a primary for an infant, we learn the infant's personality, likes, dislikes, and very importantly - the history of the infant and all of his/her problems, diseases, treatments, medications, etc. As the primary, you often become the advocate for your patient and help to become a part of the team making medical decisions for your patient as well as the one to communicate all the nuances to other nurses caring for your primary.
There are other areas of the hospital that allow a nurse to take on a primary however often our patients have a longer average length of stay which allows us to build relationships with our patients and their families. The wonderful enriching thing is helping that family to learn to care for their infant and hear updates on our special patients.
I think I will always have a handful of primaries throughout the year as long as I work in the NICU and each one will make a mark on my heart and teach me new things about the work I love. Currently I am caring for my seventh primary and who knows how many more there will be.
When a nurse becomes a primary for an infant, we learn the infant's personality, likes, dislikes, and very importantly - the history of the infant and all of his/her problems, diseases, treatments, medications, etc. As the primary, you often become the advocate for your patient and help to become a part of the team making medical decisions for your patient as well as the one to communicate all the nuances to other nurses caring for your primary.
There are other areas of the hospital that allow a nurse to take on a primary however often our patients have a longer average length of stay which allows us to build relationships with our patients and their families. The wonderful enriching thing is helping that family to learn to care for their infant and hear updates on our special patients.
I think I will always have a handful of primaries throughout the year as long as I work in the NICU and each one will make a mark on my heart and teach me new things about the work I love. Currently I am caring for my seventh primary and who knows how many more there will be.
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