A group of students across campus are laying the groundwork to start an association, NICU and Infant Health Unification at Auburn University. Neonatal refers to the first 28 days of life of a newborn. When babies are born early, have health problems, or a difficult birth they go to the hospital's NICU which specializes in the care of ill or premature newborn infants.
NICU is typically directed by one or more neonatologists and staffed by nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, physician assistants, resident physicians, and respiratory therapists. Many other ancillary disciplines and specialists including pediatric medical subspecialists, pediatric anesthesiologists, pediatric surgeons, and pediatric ophthalmologists are available at larger units. Auburn University NICU association is interested in bringing awareness to the non-medical ancillary disciplines that support medical care. These include social workers, physical, occupational, and speech therapists, dietitians and lactation consultants.
Elizabeth Anderton, a senior in interdisciplinary studies, is interested in a career in NICU administration either as a coordinator or a director. “I had no information on NICU or how to prepare for a career in the area,” Anderton said. “Similarly, there were students in other majors who were interested but did not have a direct path to work in the units. The idea of organizing a group came from that query. We currently have a team of professionals working in the NICU and with the resources we develop, students interested in neonatal care can get information and find out if they are truly interested in the area.”
Emma Walton is a current nursing student and vice president of the group. According to Walton, 1 out of 10 newborns go to NICU for various levels of care. There are 4 levels of care available in most hospitals that provide NICU care, level 4 being the highest care. An infant may end up in a NICU unit for various reasons — babies whose mothers abused drugs, jaundice, various birth injuries, low blood sugar, or infections from mothers.
According to Walton, the NICU association has partnered with the March of Dimes and the Pediatric Pharmacists Association at Auburn University. “As a group activity, we are assembling care packages for the March of Dimes group to distribute to NICU babies in Alabama to increase awareness about premature births” Walton said. “The packages contain onesies, pacifiers, stuffed animals, board books, socks, rattles, and nipple cream to help mothers stay comfortable.”
“It is a group still in its infancy,” Anderton said. “We currently have 30 members and hope to expand. Professor Ann Lambert from the School of Nursing is our faculty advisor. I would like to build it from the ground up with the help of our members and spread awareness. All our members learn something by attending our group meetings. We want to help with overall NICU patient care. We are organizing some fund-raising activities as our membership dues and donations have mostly been utilized to buy supplies for the care packages.”
The association has 12 directors, one for each major represented in the group. Anderton serves as the president, Walton serves as the vice president and director of the nursing student involvement, a finance major student is the treasurer. The secretary is also the director of the premedical student involvement. “We have several perspectives in the NICU group, the social work, the hospital administrator or administrative, nursing and pharmacy side. We are interested in letting students know that there are careers available in NICU care,” Anderton said. “In addition, one of our directors is a research coordinator, researching educational opportunities. the availability of grants to conduct research in the area. As we get more funding, we might suggest students to consider completing certification courses in management,” she added.
Neonatal care, also known as specialized nurseries or intensive care, has been around since the 1960s. The first American newborn intensive care unit, designed by Louis Gluck, was opened in October 1960 at Yale New Haven Hospital.
