neonatal, NNP

BACKGROUND: Excessive supplemental oxygen exposure in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can be associated with oxygen-related toxicities, which can lead to negative clinical consequences. Use of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) can be a successful strategy for avoiding hyperoxia in the NICU. iNO selectively produces pulmonary vasodilation and has been shown to improve oxygenation parameters across the spectrum of disease severity, from mild to very severe, in neonates with hypoxic respiratory failure associated with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn...

The National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners (NANNP) conducted its second workforce survey of certified neonatal nurse practitioners in the fall of 2016. National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners partnered with the National Certification Corporation and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners to conduct this electronic survey, containing 69 questions and focusing on practice sites and total compensation packages (including benefits) and workforce deficits.Findings indicate a rising neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) position vacancy rate across the country...

BACKGROUND: Neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) workload is not well studied, and metrics specific to NNP practice are lacking. Factors such as changes in resident duty hours, increasing neonatal intensive care unit admissions, and a shortage of NNPs contribute to NNP workload. Increased workload has been shown to be detrimental to providers and can affect quality of care. PURPOSE: This study quantified NNP workload using a subjective workload metric, the NASA Task Load Index, and a newly developed objective workload metric specific to NNP practice...

BACKGROUND: A level 1 community hospital with a labor, delivery, recovery, and postpartum (LDRP) unit delivering over 2800 babies per year was operating without dedicated neonatal resuscitation and stabilization support. PURPOSE: With lack of funding and space to provide an onsite level 2 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), a position was created to provide neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) coverage to support the LDRP unit. METHOD: The article describes the innovative solution of having an NNP team rotate from a regional neonatal intensive care program to a busy community LDRP unit...

Variation in relative brain size among adult mammals is produced by different patterns of brain and body growth across ontogeny. Fetal development plays a central role in generating this diversity, and aspects of prenatal physiology such as maternal relative metabolic rate, altriciality, and placental morphology have been proposed to explain allometric differences in neonates and adults. Primates are also uniquely encephalized across fetal development, but it remains unclear when this pattern emerges during development and whether it is common to all primate radiations...

BACKGROUND: Neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) play a vital role in the medical care of newborns and infants. There is expected to be a shortage of NNPs in the near future. PURPOSE: To assess the present NNP workforce and study the impact of potential policy changes to alleviate forecasted shortages. METHODS: We modeled the education and workforce system for NNPs. Forecasting models were combined with optimal decision-making to derive best-case scenario admission levels for graduate and undergraduate programs...

BACKGROUND: Neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) play an important role in caring for premature and ill infants. Currently, there is a shortage of NNPs to fill open positions. Understanding how nurses decide to become NNPs will help practicing nurse practitioners, managers, and faculty encourage and support nurses in considering the NNP role as a career choice. PURPOSE: To describe how nurses decide to enter graduate school to become nurse practitioners. METHODS: A qualitative study using semistructured interviews to explore how 11 neonatal intensive care unit nurses decided to enter graduate school to become NNPs...

BACKGROUND: Mentoring facilitates positive self-efficacy. Individuals with high self-efficacy emulate professional resiliency and possess a strong sense of optimism in their ability to adapt, overcome, and persevere in the professional arena. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics that encourage mentoring relationships between neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) students and preceptors, as well as student perceptions of mentoring relationships...

BACKGROUND: Studies have demonstrated a dramatic increase in the number of new nurse practitioners (NPs) overall completing NP education each year. However, NPs who provide specialized care to children have not experienced increases in their pipeline at all. This has resulted in shortages of neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs). PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to gain a greater understanding of the NNP pipeline and potential for increasing the number of new NNPs graduating each year...

BACKGROUND: As an integral member of a healthcare team, neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) provide care in a variety of settings that include but are not limited to all levels of inpatient care, transport, acute and chronic care settings; delivery rooms; and outpatient care settings. Anecdotal evidence indicates that responsibilities, practice environment, and workload vary widely between regions and practice settings. PURPOSE: Historically, the supply of neonatal nurse practitioners has rarely met the demand for services, although needs vary by region at any given time...

BACKGROUND: Although advanced practice in neonatal nursing is accepted and supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics and National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners, less than one-half of all states allow independent prescriptive authority by advanced practice nurse practitioners. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare costs of a collaborative practice model that includes neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) plus neonatologist (Neo) versus a neonatologist only (Neo-Only) practice in Washington state...

Findings from a spring 2013 survey of neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) program directors are presented and concerning trends identified. Implications of these findings, in combination with other external factors influencing the supply/demand ratio on the stability of the NNP workforce nationwide, are explored. Present and future NNP workforce demands in relation to the educational programs available to prepare nurses for NNP practice are examined. Finally, discussion focuses on the politics and pragmatics of sustaining the NNP role for posterity...

Pneumothorax is a potentially life-threatening condition in a neonate, requiring emergency intervention. The neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) must be able to respond quickly and competently to prevent significant potential complications or death. The purpose of this practice improvement project was to implement procedure review for NNP competency maintenance in needle thoracostomy for a tension pneumothorax and to evaluate the effectiveness of procedure review on competency through simulation performance. Eighteen NNPs participated (procedure review = 10, no review = 8)...

Neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) have a crucial role in the management and care of critically ill newborns and infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Their role responsibilities range from daily management of care, oversight of unit and bedside education, execution of advanced procedures, and attendance at high-risk deliveries. During their educational program, there is a mix of didactic and clinical training. To ensure that their graduates are able to competently care for neonatal patients in the ever-advancing neonatal world, the NNP program at the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston (UTMB), has implemented simulation-based training into every clinical course...

With an increased demand in the clinical field, physicians and nursing leaders in Iran have been working on developing an advanced practice nursing role. A neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) program was developed by Tehran Medical University with cooperation of Iran's Neonatologist Association. The first group of master's students started their formal education in September 2009 with the principal goal of becoming "clinical nurse practitioners" ready to work in the neonatal intensive care unit as "first responders...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Workforce Survey, led by Paula Timoney, DNP, ARNP, NNP-BC, and Debra Sansoucie, EdD, RN, NNP-BC, with the National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners (NANNP), provides data collected from more than 600 neonatal nurse practitioners to examine workforce characteristics and needs. NANNP commissioned the survey because no comprehensive data existed for the neonatal nurse practitioner workforce. The executive summary given in this article highlights some of the survey's key findings in the areas of demographics, practice environment, scope of responsibilities, and job satisfaction...

Neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) have played a significant role in providing medical coverage to many of the country's Level III neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Extensive education and experience are required for a nurse practitioner (NP) to become competent in caring for these critically ill newborns. The NNP can take this competence and experience and expand her role out into the community Level I nurseries. Clinical care of the infants and close communication with parents, pediatricians, and the area tertiary center provide a community service with the goal of keeping parents and babies together in the community hospital without compromising the health of the baby...

The Management of Hypotension in the Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infant: Guideline for Practice, developed by Lyn Vargo, PhD, RN, NNP-BC, and Istvan Seri, MD, PhD, in 2011 under the auspices of the National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners, focuses on the challenging topic of clinical management of systemic hypotension in the very low-birth-weight (VLBW) infant during the first 3 days of postnatal life. The recommendations and rationale in the excerpt below from the complete online publication are based on the best evidence available through both neonatal research and consultation of experts on the subject...

In the United States, 20% to 30% of the employed population does shift work. Neonatal nurse practitioners are a part of this group. Yet, there are no guidelines in place regarding shift length. Fatigue among shift workers is well documented and carries risks to both patients and health care providers. It is crucial to analyze this problem so that the neonatal nurse practitioner profession can move forward with establishing guidelines for practice; so safe, quality care to patients is assured and the health as well as the role satisfaction of the neonatal nurse practitioner is optimized...