Stephanie Mayor

Offside Journal - NICU

Pediatrics

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Ever since l was little l have been going to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to

visit my mother at work. This type of nursing is the first l was ever introduced to and is

partly the reason l want to be a nurse. The day started out by taking a tour of the unit.

With sixteen babies, the nurses were on a two to one schedule. Two nurses were on

delivery and two were on transport. Jayme and l got the opportunity to speak to an

Osteopathic physician. The OD explained that her role as a physician includes all the

roles and responsibilities as a plain MD but that she believes in a holistic approach to

medicine. She focuses on the body as a whole and how all organ systems are

connected and in what way.

We spent the rest of the day learning the equipment that a typical neonatal

nurse uses throughout the occurrence of a regular shift. I was interested to see the

various respirators and learn how they differ in order to better accommodate the

babies. I found the most interesting factor was regarding the Omnibed. The Omnibed

was amazing because it has a setting that creates a warm moist environment, a

terrarium, that replicates that of still being in the mother’s womb.

While the equipment was top notch and the babies were adorable, what l was

most excited about was the nurse patient relationship! My whole life my mom would

get stopped when we were out, in grocery stores and in the mall, by families of old

patients that still remembered her from ten, sixteen years ago. I never truly understood

that until I went to nursing school. I think it’s amazing how deep the nursing bond goes
in a family’s life. It makes me so proud of my mom and all the amazing neonatal nurses

out there!