When it gets crazy

Some days, weeks, even months are just crazy in the NICU. We get so busy that no one has a moment to breathe, much less pee or have lunch. We end up way over our normal census numbers and nurses get plain burnt out. We are tired. Plain and simple. It is exhausting right now. Nurses in the step-down unit are caring for as many as 5 patients at a time (normal is 3... sometimes 4) and in the ICU they are caring for up to 3 at a time (normal is 2 at the most). So, you get the picture.

When it gets crazy, we see different kinds of nurses.

THE WORK OVERTIME ALL THE TIME NURSE

She is on her 10th day straight and coming back for more! She is frazzled. Her hair is askew, her makeup isn't quite all there, and she is doing the job like a robot. But she is making BANK and is proud of it. She is talking about all the things she is going to do when her paycheck comes in. The parents come in and say, "You are here again? Do you ever take off?"

THE NEVER WORK UNLESS SHE HAS TO NURSE

She is working her one day per week as her schedule reads and you don't hear from her again. She walks out with her eyes to the floor because she worries about being asked to come back. She won't answer her phone when called either, so don't even try.

THE WORK MY SCHEDULE AND COMPLAIN THE WHOLE TIME NURSE

She comes in on her scheduled days and complains about how busy it is. She also complains that no one will come in to help when we are so busy. She talks badly about the "NEVER WORKS UNLESS SHE HAS TO NURSE." However, you will not see her on a day she isn't scheduled. She blatantly says "NO" when asked to work extra and complains that she was asked. She also makes sure everyone knows that she was overly busy because she had to care for 2 babies the whole shift and got a 34 week admission at 5pm before shift change.

THE HOPPED UP ON CAFFEINE NURSE

Ok, she is there all the time. She has drank so much coffee that we aren't sure if she has slept at all in the last few days. She also stays late and comes in early. She is so peppy that most people want to punch her in the face.

THE NURSE MANAGER

She calls, texts and emails begging for more help everyday. When it is recommended that we have an incentive pay to encourage people to come in on these busy days, she shrugs it off saying, "We can handle it! We are NICU nurses!" She also waves as she leaves at 4:30pm Monday-Friday watching the others drown.

All of these nurses are very real and maybe you can come up with your own.

But why do we keep doing it??

The other day, in the midst of the insanity, we had a visitor. This little boy was a year and a half old. He had been born at 23 weeks and spent over 5 months in our unit. He was perfect. He was on track for a boy his corrected age. He had no residual issues. He smiled big when he saw us come out to say hello and his parents hugged us and said thank you for saving him. I remembered those sweet big eyes gazing up at me while I fed him and prayed he'd survive. I remember thinking on his admission day that we'd have to say goodbye so quickly because he was so sick and so tiny. I remember countless surgeries and the days after when he should have died, but he didn't. And there he was, strong, happy, and beautiful. He is the reason we keep it up. He is the reason we keep going through the crazy. He is the reason I could never do another job!