Staff Education and Self-Care

(1046) Improving Newborn Screening Collection and Accuracy in the NICU

Poster Presenter(s)

Molly E. Simeone, MSN, RNC-NIC

Registered Nurse Neonatal ICU
Tufts Children's Hospital
Medford, Massachusetts, United States
Disclosure: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Co-Author(s)

Lindsay M. D'Angelo, MSN, RN, RNC-NIC, CCRN

Professional Development Director Neonatal ICU
Tufts Children's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Disclosure: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Our NICU experienced a high percentage of newborn screenings that were rejected by the send-out lab due to errors. Incomplete or inaccurate specimens can potentially require repeat lab draws exposing the newborn to an additional unnecessary painful procedure. In addition, this causes a delay in pertinent screening results, which may require early intervention before the newborn displays symptoms. To address this issue, the NICU Unit Based Council developed a tracking tool and educational handout to reduce the number of unsatisfactory specimens that were returned.

Learning Objectives:

Examine the efficacy of utilizing a tracking tool for newborn screening error reduction.
Describe the need for timely newborn screening collection.