Yesterday was a momentous day. It was neonatal nurses day.
If your unit is like most NICUs, that day stretches into a week-long celebration of this rare and precious breed of nurses.
I could’ve written a very special article for them today. But then I remembered I already did. Years ago. Not for neonatal nurses day, but for one of my friends, colleagues, and mentors -Donna Ranker -who was about to retire.
As I sat down to write this newsletter, I realized that although many people have read this piece (I think it’s up to 1.4k likes) that it didn’t make any sense to write something new.
Why?
Because here’s the thing: The article was written from the heart then, and continues to be heartfelt today. I wouldn’t change a word.
It begins like this…
Neonatal nurses are a difficult group to describe. I have a bird’s eye view of them, working with them yet not being one of them.
I entered their world cautiously, knowing they would eat me for lunch if I so much as looked the wrong way. Forget that I had any knowledge or even a personality. I knew that first I must just exist in their world and do no harm for a very long time, and if that plan worked out, maybe I could start treating some patients. I respected their protectiveness. I couldn’t think of any group of patients in greater need of protection.
And slowly, they allowed me to be.
If you’ve never seen a NICU nurse work it’s quite amazing. They can bundle a baby as tight as any burrito in 3 seconds flat, especially if showing a new resident how to properly perform this task.
