Preconference: Caregiver Practice: Our Impact on the Small Babies We Care for (PRECON)

There is no other care provider that impacts a patient in the way that occurs in the NICU. Everything we do, allow, and encourage has an impact on how the small baby will interact with their environment and experience life. Our time together will touch on daily practices, interactions and experiences we provide and their impact. We will also discuss how we can partner and encourage parents to provide care that will not only help attachment, but also improve outcomes of the small infant.

This presentation will:
• Discuss the physiology of the intrauterine environment and the pathophysiology of the extrauterine experience. It will also discuss how supporting proper positioning practices in the NICU will promote the integrity, control, and organization of the musculoskeletal, posture, and sensorimotor systems leading to improved outcomes
• Discuss the concept of continuity and consistency of care and communication from various perspectives with a focus on the parent’s experience on the receiving end. We will also discuss how a Primary Nurse model of care can support the family while transferring and integrating these concepts across disciplines creating an environment where all NICU team members are unified in the plan of care
• Offer thermoregulation practice strategies and techniques for maintaining normothermia while providing a developmentally supportive environment through positioning from the DR to weaning strategies from an incubator

Breakfast is served at the beginning of the session for all registered attendees.