Given the statements Senator Walsh made last week and this week, I am in agreement with @nurseabnormalities and other fellow nurses all over SM that it is time to #flipthecards and educate the Senator and others #whatnursesdo do because a nurse is not a nurse, is not a nurse, is not a nurse. Me: Laura Scarborough, RNC Specialty: Level III NICU Three aspects unique to my area of practice: 1. I care for the tiniest of humans. One of my smallest patients tipped the scales 16 years ago at 340 grams - scarcely 12 ounces - and they require require a multitude of special things in order to promote healthy development because they can be born as early as 23 weeks gestation. 2. I don’t just care for my tiny humans but also their whole family. I educate and assist a new mama in pumping the liquid gold needed to feed her tiny baby and, when the baby is developmentally ready, help her put that baby to breast. I support daddies to not be afraid to change their tiny baby’s diaper - yes tiny diapers like in this picture. I will reassure them that they can hold their tiny son or daughter against their bare chest because it is the very best thing they can do for their baby and their self. I am with families sometimes on the very worst day of their lives, hugging them, praying with them, crying with them. 3. In the last 30 years, I have worked 8 hour and 12 hour shifts which are no less challenging and exhausting physically, mentally and emotionally. In any given shift I am mixing and dividing up breast milk or formula for feedings every three hours for all of my patients, dispensing medications which are carefully measured and titrated based on the baby’s current weight, along with hanging IV fluids and changing out IV tubings for multiple lines on one tiny baby. I often find myself gently reminding a baby or two or more to breathe - sometimes 12 or more times a shift - sometimes I am not so gently reminding them when a back rub is not enough. I can spend an entire shift holding and trying to soothe a baby in pain due to Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. No Night is ever the same in the NICU, even with the same patient. #nurselife #nicunurselife #nightshiftnurselife https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwnyp3qA1tA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ecelcrfqq4va
