Assessments and Interventions within the NICU

As my rotation comes to an end, I cannot believe everything I have learned and how thankful I am for the time I was able to spend in the NICU.  Below I am including some information regarding helpful assessments and interventions I used during those four months.

Assessments - Within the NICU I was at, a huge component used for assessment is clinical observation.  With the babies being so fragile and sick, we are constantly observing their vitals, stress cues, and reaction to our presence.  We are continually assessing their movements, head shape, tolerance, etc. and documenting on those observations.  We can then reflect on change over time within our documentation and continue to facilitate their progress during their hospitalization.  
Another assessment which was occasionally utilized was the HELP (Hawaii Early Learning Profile) assessment.  This assessment was commonly used for the long term babies who required prolonged hospitalization.  This assessment consists of six domains which include: cognitive, language, gross motor, fine motor, social-emotional, and self-help.  These enable therapists to better understand where the baby is developmentally and specific skills to continue addressing during treatment sessions.  

Interventions - There are a number of interventions utilized within the NICU.  Below I have included some common ones I became familiar with over the past four months. 
The focus of the treatment session and the response from the baby dictates greatly what our interventions will include.
If we are focusing on tactile/proprioceptive system development we may include positive touch, infant massage, proprioceptive joint input, ROM, or containment holds for example. 
As we continue to progress the sensory system we may introduce bouncy swings for short periods of time to stimulate the vestibular system.  As the babe is developmentally progressing we may also incorporate auditory stimulation such as music therapy as an intervention.  Visually, when is a babe is age appropriate to begin visually tracking, we may encourage the babe to follow the therapist's face or a motivating toy.  
As an infant grows and develops we may also progress to incorporating multiple sensory interventions to allow the babe to explore their environment and develop a greater capacity to take in their surroundings.  
Additional interventions provided include: head shaping techniques and positioning devices, environmental modifications, parent education, boundary support within isolette to promote a womb like position.

These interventions and many more enable therapists to provide positive developmental care within the NICU and be a key member of the interdisciplinary team in the hospital!