Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

NICU tragedy: How new nurses’ nail choices led to a newborn’s heartbreaking fate

Debbie Moore-Black, RN
Conditions
February 5, 2024
Share
Tweet
Share

A small, cliquish bevy of nurses was working their way through orientation in the NICU straight out of nursing school. They were happy and thrilled to be accepted into this specialized nursing unit: the NICU.

Practicing good hygiene, washing hands up to the elbows with soap each time one entered a baby’s cubicle, and gowning and gloving was a standard and mandatory protocol before touching the babies.

These were preemies in the NICU.

Molly and her friends felt privileged and honored to get this job straight out of nursing school.

It was a fast-paced NICU with levels 2-4. The higher the level, the higher the babies’ acuity. They were tiny and frail, with weak immune systems. Most were born prematurely. Others had defects, congenital anomalies, and immature lungs. Some babies had to be fed by a feeding tube. Some were on the ventilator.

This was the most sacred unit in the hospital because every nurse that came aboard knew they must always be meticulous in everything they did.

The basic cardinal rules, though, were to always wash your hands and keep your fingernails trimmed.

The new nurses were fashionable, pretty, and smart. But they refused to let a protocol like having short nails bother them. Management looked the other way when they saw the new grads parade in with their glossy, long stiletto-type nails. I guess if they just looked away, everything would be okay.

Baby Jessie was a level 2 baby in the NICU. Born prematurely, hypoglycemic, grossly underweight, and unable to feed without a feeding tube inserted through her nose into her stomach. She was frail but had big eyes and a hint of fine red hair. She was a beauty.

Her parents, washing their hands, gowning, and gloving, held their new baby close to them. Every day they’d come for a visit, hoping and praying for a progress report. Each day seemed to bring a new accomplishment.

Baby Jessie seemed to be progressing.

Then one day, her status was changing rapidly. Poor Jessie, with her rapid respirations, diarrhea, and a rash developed on her abdomen. Fever developed, lethargy, and Jessie was rapidly deteriorating. The sepsis protocol was initiated, stat labs drawn, ABGs, and an LP performed.

A code blue was called. The code team rushed in. CPR, ventilator support as baby Jessie rapidly went into asystole. Rounds of epinephrine, bicarb, but the code team couldn’t bring Jessie back.

ADVERTISEMENT

After what seemed a lifetime, the NICU physicians pronounced her death and sadly met her devastated parents.

An autopsy was performed, and bacteria were found. E. coli. It was mandatory to report this to infection control and epidemiology. The CDC got involved. E. coli was found in Jessie’s bloodstream.

That new bevy of nurses – the fashionable ones with those long stiletto nails – the bacteria was traced back to their nails upon scraping and microscopic findings.

It was determined that two of these nurses contributed to the death of this neonatal premature NICU baby.

Beyond respecting and acknowledging the protocol on wearing short nails, of always washing your hands up to your elbows without fail each time a nurse entered a baby’s room in the NICU, because of these nurses who failed to honor this mandatory protocol, a death was pronounced of this small, innocent newborn baby.

Years of trying to finally get pregnant, yearning for that new baby, baby room decorated, crib with pink ruffles, baby showers, and happiness.

Endless tears as baby Jessie lay lifeless in her parent’s arms.

Debbie Moore-Black is a nurse who blogs at Do Not Resuscitate.

Prev

The opioid addiction epidemic and its impact on health care costs

February 5, 2024 Kevin 3
…
Next

Treating inflammation provides hope in the fight against Parkinson's

February 5, 2024 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Critical Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
The opioid addiction epidemic and its impact on health care costs
Next Post >
Treating inflammation provides hope in the fight against Parkinson's

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Debbie Moore-Black, RN

  • What money can’t fix: the scars left by a friend

    Debbie Moore-Black, RN
  • A retired ICU nurse’s brunch conversation sparks a life-changing moment

    Debbie Moore-Black, RN
  • Wisdom for new nurses: lessons from a 30-year ICU veteran

    Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Related Posts

  • Where is the nurses’ lounge?

    Trisha Swift, DNP, RN
  • Nurses Week. Always and forever.

    Debbie Moore-Black, RN
  • Nurses are in need of racial healing

    Janice Phillips, PhD, RN and Katie Boston-Leary, PhD, MBA, RN
  • I speak for the nurses

    Emily Weston, FNP-C, RN
  • Where are the nurses in the Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board?

    Yoo Jung Kim, MD
  • Report on nurses: Make the profession more visible in media

    Molly Moran, MSN, RN

More in Conditions

  • “The medical board doesn’t know I exist. That’s the point.”

    Jenny Shields, PhD
  • When moisturizers trigger airport bomb alarms

    Eva M. Shelton, MD and Janmesh Patel
  • Medicaid cuts are quietly fueling the diabetic kidney failure crisis

    Jane Zill, LICSW
  • What super agers can teach us about longevity and health span

    Eric Topol, MD
  • JFK warned us about physical fitness. Sixty years later, we’re still not listening.

    Alexandre Bourcier, MD
  • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

    Jeff Cooper
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Do Jewish students face rising bias in holistic admissions?

      Anonymous | Education
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
    • Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?

      Jacob Murphy | Education
    • The hidden bias in how we treat chronic pain

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Breaking the cycle of sacrifice: from medical martyrdom to purposeful healing [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • “The medical board doesn’t know I exist. That’s the point.”

      Jenny Shields, PhD | Conditions
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • When moisturizers trigger airport bomb alarms

      Eva M. Shelton, MD and Janmesh Patel | Conditions
    • Better dizziness diagnosis through skilled exams [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 3 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Do Jewish students face rising bias in holistic admissions?

      Anonymous | Education
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
    • Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?

      Jacob Murphy | Education
    • The hidden bias in how we treat chronic pain

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Breaking the cycle of sacrifice: from medical martyrdom to purposeful healing [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • “The medical board doesn’t know I exist. That’s the point.”

      Jenny Shields, PhD | Conditions
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • When moisturizers trigger airport bomb alarms

      Eva M. Shelton, MD and Janmesh Patel | Conditions
    • Better dizziness diagnosis through skilled exams [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

NICU tragedy: How new nurses’ nail choices led to a newborn’s heartbreaking fate
3 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...