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Navigating the NICU: Meeting the Crew

© Eric Jordan Jensen

The Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is often a high-stress environment, filled with complicated machines and a plethora of medical professionals. One of the things my wife and I found most difficult about our NICU was identifying who was who and who did what. We were introduced to so many people that we couldn't keep them all straight. With a lot help from the For Parents of Preemies Web site (listed under general preemie sites to the right) and The Premature Baby Book by Helen Harrison, I have listed some of the people that might be encountered in the NICU:

AUDIOLOGIST: deals with hearing problems.

CARDIOLOGIST: deals with heart problems.

CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALIST: a nurse with training and responsibilities over patient and nurse education

ENDOCRINOLOGIST: deals with glands and hormones.

GASTROENTEROLOGIST: deals with intestinal problems and nutrition

HEMATOLOGIST: deals with blood problems.

HOME HEALTH CARE SPECIALIST: the person who helps coordinate equipment and medical needs after discharge. (We were also assigned a home health care nurse, who comes to our home once a week to monitor our son's health and development.)

LAB TECHNICIANS: in charge of heel sticks, lab work.

LACTATION CONSULTANT: helps with breast-feeding and support.

NEONATOLOGIST: pediatrician with special training (at least 9 years of medical training) in newborn intensive care.

NEPHROLOGIST: deals with kidney (urine) problems.

NEUROLOGIST: deals with brain and nervous system problems.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST: has special training in infant development. (In our hospital, the occupational therapists were in charge of distributing information to us and monitoring our baby's development.)

OPHTHALMOLOGIST: deals with eye problems.

PRIMARY NURSE: the nurse who will care for your baby most often. (Our baby did not have a primary nurse.)

REGISTERED NURSE (RN): the nurses who deal with the day-to-day care of the baby. They have 2-5 years of medical training and have passed a state examination to certify.

RESPIRATORY THERAPIST: has special training for the care of oxygen and other breathing equipment.

SOCIAL WORKER: helps with non-medical problems such as emotional support, counseling, insurance, transportation, etc.

STUDENTS: In a teaching hospital, you may encounter nursing and medical students. In our hospital, student nurses were allowed to perform menial tasks such as taking a baby's temperature, changing diapers, monitoring heart rate and respirations, etc. Note: We only had nursing students when our son was moved to Pediatrics.

More complete listings can be found at the For Parents of Preemies web site and also in Helen Harrison's book (pp. 125-26).

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