Nurse Practitioner

Nurse Practitioner

Code Bell

Boston, MA

Female, 34

I have been in the nursing field for 12 years. I have worked as a RN in an adult medical-surgical unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). I went back to school to obtain my masters and now work as a nurse practitioner in a Pediatric CICU. These kids are sick. The issues can be straightforward or extremely complex. No patient is the same and no day is routine. I am lucky- I love my job (most of the time).

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Last Answer on February 22, 2015

Best Rated

What's the CICU? What conditions do the kids have?

Asked by 718killa about 12 years ago

The CICU is a cardiac intensive care unit. We treat kids that were born with cardiac disease. Not the kind of disease that adults acquire from eating too much Burger King but the kind that you are born with (congenital). Most specifically - missing parts of your heart, things in the wrong place, holes, etc. The majority of the conditions require surgical correction to live.

Do you ever get emotionally attached to your patients?

Asked by jasmine about 12 years ago

Yes. Since I work in a place where kids have heart disease that may require many interventions over a course of years and because I have worked in the same place for 10 years- I have had many opportunies to bond with patients and familes. I have taken care of many patients since the day that they were born and continue to care for them as they grow. It is wonderful to see how the kids thrive after surgery! Many times the parents bring them to the hospital so that we can see them when they are feeling well after they are healed!

Have you ever had to break the news to parents that their baby died?

Asked by levi.schwartz about 12 years ago

NPs can not pronounce a person dead- that is purely a physician thing. I have been involved in numerous code situations and redirection of care (removal of mechanical/chemical life support) that have ultimately ended in a patient dying. Even though there are many healthcare providers involved- the physician is the one that always updates the parents.

Do a lot of nurses experience back pain or anything similar from being on their feet all day? Do they wear any special kinds of shoes or braces to combat this?

Asked by melissa mccoy about 12 years ago

Back pain is pretty common - mostly with caring for aduts because of all of the manual labor. Foot pain is pretty common from being on your feet all day long. I think that the favorite shoes to wear are Dansko brand shoes. I love them. They give the best support.

What made you decide to switch from adult care to neonatal and pediatric units?

Asked by ~ KJ ~ about 12 years ago

I worked with adults for one year as an RN in an infectious disease unit. In that year- I learned alot about adult behavior in the hospital. Some adults are IMPOSSIBLE to deal with. They can be rude, everything is a bargain, and it is back breaking labor. I think that everyone has a niche- and working with adults was just not for me.

Are the moms and babies in your NICU typically lower-income families? Do you think that lower income mothers tend to be less vigilant about proper prenatal care?

Asked by teressa about 12 years ago

It has been years since I have been in the NICU- I can ask some of my NICU colleagues to get a better response BUT my gut feeling is that there isn't much of a relationship between being admitted to the NICU and being lower income. AND I don't think that lower income mothers are less vigilant about prenatal care. Many of the reasons of being admitted to the NICU have nothing to do with being lower- income or being less vigilant with prenatal care. For example: - have a fever as a newborn will buy you an admission to the NICU (requires septic workup) - having a congenital defect (cardiac, pulmonary, etc)- has no bearing on prenatal care- they are just a fluke. - multiples (usually born early and require some extra help with feeding and possibly respiratory- the lungs are one of the last things to mature in utero)

For an ER nurse (ie in NYC) what are the hours legally allowed to be worked in one shift, and what actually occurs? And what is the chain of command for an ER Nurse?

Asked by Rissa over 9 years ago

I am not sure of the rules of nursing practice in New York. In Boston - I think the longest shift one is allowed is 16 hours. At least that is what my experience as been.

This is the chain of command I have always followed:1st Charge Nurse2nd Nurse Manager3rd Nursing Director