From NICU Nurse to NICU Parent

In my last post I described a difficult case where the patient’s sister, who was a nurse, was attempting to limit the quantity of pain medication we were giving. Now I would really like to share my feelings about being a nurse who became a patient/member of the family.

Many of you who’re members of NursingCenter or follow this blog are already accustomed to the story of my sons’ birth. It was a surreal time in my life once they were born prematurely and spent months within the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). In a matter of minutes, I went from being an intensive care nurse to a young mother of two very sick children. I had seen relations through illness and surgery before, and I even sat by my grandmother’s bedside as she died within the unit where I worked. However, I feel it was my time as a parent within the NICU that basically showed me what it was prefer to be “on the other side.”

As anyone who has been there can inform you, it’s terrifying! Of course, my clinical knowledge and experience helped me understand what was happening, but I remember quickly (even immediately) reaching a degree where I felt completely overwhelmed. Although I understood the terminology and pathophysiology, I used to be used to caring for adults – premature babies were a very different world. “What about his tachycardia?” I assumed. Then the nurse, without even knowing what I used to be asking, told me, “He is not tachycardic, a heart rate of 140 bpm is normal!” I feel she just saw the panic on my face!

It was very stressful for me to understand all of the potential complications that would occur for my sons. Of course, I knew that dopamine was obligatory for Baby A’s kidney perfusion. I also knew that when the nurses increased the dose, the goal had modified and now it was obligatory to take care of his blood pressure. I didn’t need to know the possible consequences if he got carried away or if the high ventilator settings could cause a pneumothorax.

I do know that my knowledge and experience have helped me advocate for my sons, engage of their physical care, and explain what was happening to the remaining of our family. I’m so grateful to the staff who, while knowing my background, also saw me as a young mother who was scared. So what did I learn from this? Yes, patients and relations, whether or not they are healthcare professionals or not, are more informed and educated about healthcare than ever before. That is a great thing, but it is necessary to keep in mind that we’re all human first, and in times of crisis, all of us need compassionate care and a listening ear.