In 2019, the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) expanded Neonatal Nurses Day, historically celebrated on September 15th, to a weeklong opportunity to honor the dedication, passion, and expertise of neonatal nurses.  No one could have imagined what 2020 had...

LITERATURE SPOTLIGHT:  Exogenous Ketone Bodies as Promising Neuroprotective Agents for Developmental Brain Injury.  When neuroprotection first became part of the NICU dialogue it was typically used to describe those interventions aimed at preventing brain injury and...

What if I told you that we possessed a drug capable of decreasing pain and stress in the hospitalized neonate? What if I said that this drug came with no side effects, reduced length of stay, was shown to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes, and was FREE? What if I...

STRENGTH TO BE THE ONE Isn't it true... timing is everything? You can hear something once and it does not resonate or seem important, you hear it again, and again.. and finally it sticks.  Two years ago, I was given the chance to take Gallup's Strengths Finder (c)...

Shift after shift, members of the Synapse Community...

Your Facebook Friend is Wrong! Continuing in our changemaker series, this month we are focusing on tools and strategies to help you find the Strength to be the ONE - the ONE unstoppable nurse striving for the best in Neuro Nurturing NICU Care.  A powerful tool for any...

Strength to be the ONE during hard times If you are anything like me, you love working in the NICU, caring for babies and their families, and feeling like you are making a difference. The COVID-19 pandemic and adjustments to our usual practice has made our difficult...

15,000 Nurses Speak Out about COVID-19 In May 2020, the results of a national survey conducted by NurseGrid highlighted the profound impact that COVID-19 has had on nurses. An incredible 15,000+ responses were collected!?!  The survey collected some demographic data...

2020 is the Year of the Nurse Early this year, when COVID-19 was still just a faint and distant rumbling, the World Health Organization designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. This designation has taken on a new meaning for so many nurses as COVID-19...