Nurse Kelly’s Notes

11/08/2024

You NEED to check out this amazing NICU nursing resource if:
💜 you’re new to NICU nursing
🤍 you’re looking to enhance your neonatal nursing practice as a seasoned NICU RN
⭐️ you want a visual resource to help teach orientees in the NICU!

It’s available as an e-book and in print! The Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing Bundle the study guide that I wish existed when I started working in the NICU over 10 years ago… or when I was studying for my certification exams!

11/01/2024

💜 November is PREMATURITY AWARENESS MONTH!

In the US, approximately 1 in 10 patients are born prematurely. As gestational age decreases, morbidity and mortality increase. A list of common comorbidities experienced by premature babies is included here.

10/30/2024

If your NICU is dressing up the babies in costume, comment below with the theme! 🎃 👻 🦇

I love hearing about what other units are doing - our theme this year is the Flintstones!

10/29/2024

🦇🎃 what drives you batty?

10/21/2024

Treated with catheterization followed by surgery or ablation, posterior urethral valves describes a congenital condition involving abnormal tissue flaps in the urethra which cause urinary obstruction.

❓have you cared for a patient with PUV before?

10/21/2024

I love being a NICU nurse, but going to work to provide care to others has been difficult when my life circumstances have been exceptionally challenging for the last 2 years.

I am fortunate to work in a NICU where the overwhelming majority of staff are supportive and compassionate, regardless of whether or not they’ve known about my struggles. They’ve allowed me to step back when I haven’t had the capacity to assume more responsibilities. In turn, their support — and therapy — helped me reframe my internal dialogue, engage in positive self-talk, and use words of affirmation. I don’t support toxic positivity by any means, but I have found that words of affirmation have been one of the important approaches that I’ve taken to be more resilient. I thought that I would pay forward what I’ve learned by sharing some here.

⭐️ What words of affirmation do you use to help you through your shifts?

10/19/2024

New to the NICU? You need to check out my Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing Bundle. It’s the resource that I WISH existed as a visual learner when I was orienting to the NICU and preparing for specialty certification exams! It contains:
💜 over 200 colorful pages with illustrations about essential information about the world of neonatal intensive care nursing
✨ case studies and review questions to enhance your knowledge and critical thinking skills
⚡️ memory tricks to help you retain information
💜 available as a PDF instant download AND in print!

Tap the photo to get yours or go to the link in my bio to purchase!

10/16/2024

Let’s review D-TGV!

💜 WHAT IS D-TGV? D-TGV is a congenital cardiac defect in which the location of the aorta and pulmonary arteries is switched. Instead of arising from the left ventricle, the aorta arises from the right ventricle. And instead of arising from the right ventricle, the pulmonary artery arises from the left ventricle.

✨WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM? Parallel circulations exist! Mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood via ductus arteriosus or ventricular septal defect is essential for survival.

💜 HOW DOES PGE1 HELP PATIENTS WITH D-TGV? PGE1 helps maintain patency of the ductus arteriosus by relaxing its smooth muscle. This allows mixing of blood to occur until the patient can undergo surgery for stabilization and repair.

10/15/2024

Here’s a VERY concise overview of EA/TEF! In my Neonatal Gastrointestinal Bundle and the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing Bundle we take a deeper dive into EA/TEF, including the different variants of TEF.

Have you cared for a patient with EA/TEF before?

10/11/2024

Current (and future) NICU nurses, meet your bedside bestie!🖤🩵🩷💜💛

I created a NICU Nursing Storage Clipboard to make your patient care experiences, and giving and receiving report so much easier!

Tap the photo to order yours!

10/09/2024

Let’s review CPAP!

🫁 CPAP maintains positive pressure in patients with spontaneous respiratory effort and a heart rate above 100 bpm.
🤍 It’s indicated in patients with occasional apnea episodes (in part because it helps splint the upper airways), mild-to-moderate RDS, and atelectasis.
✨ Swipe to see a meme about CPAP belly!

What questions do you have about CPAP use in newborns?

10/08/2024

Discharge teaching, in conjunction with role modeling safe sleep practices, is crucial while preparing to discharge babies home from the NICU!

🌖 I’ve always found using the A, B, C’s of safe sleep to be an effective way to educate families about safe sleep practices!

10/02/2024

A comprehensive visual learning guide didn’t exist when I was learning to become a NICU nurse…
❗️or when I was studying for certification exams…
❗️or when I was a Nurse Educator responsible for onboarding new hires to the NICU…

💜 so I created the resource that I wish existed, and now it’s been used by hundreds of satisfied NICU nurses all over the world!

10/01/2024

👣 October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.
💜 This month, we remember all of the families that said goodbye too soon and babies that we carry in our hearts - ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, stillbirth, termination for medical reasons, and neonatal losses.

10/01/2024

🎃 👻 spooky season: NICU edition!

09/30/2024

Last week, I shared a post about fetal circulation. Today, let’s do a quick review of cardiac bloodflow in a structurally normal heart! Understanding how oxygenation and bloodflow should normally work is critical in understanding the physiology of different congenital cardiac defects AND the various approaches to repair that are used!

In a structurally normal heart…
💙 Deoxygenated blood returns to the right atrium via the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava.
💙 From the right atrium, blood flows through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle.
💙 The right ventricle ejects deoxygenated blood through the pulmonic valve and into the pulmonary arteries, where it flows into the vessels of the lungs to exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen!
💖 This newly oxygenated blood flows through the pulmonary veins and into the left atrium!
💖 From the left atrium, blood passes through the mitral valve and into the left ventricle.
💖 The left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood through the aortic valve into the aorta, where it is distributed to the rest of the body.

09/26/2024