Foundation Toolkit for Family Centred Developmental Care

16 - 17 April 2012

In collaboration with

Introduction

Changes in service need and health care policy have promoted new roles for nurses, doctors and therapists, which directly impact on the experience of parents and their hospitalised infants. This course is designed to reflect recommendations within the DOH Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Care that include leadership and education to meet the developmental needs of infants and to provide family centred care.  The course will enable you to understand what those needs are and how they can be met.

This course will expand your knowledge of the scope of developmental care and the evidence that supports safe practice. It will give you practical tools that will allow you to evaluate current practice in your service and to identify areas of strength and goals for improvement.  The practical sessions will give you insights into how care can be adapted to improve infant stability and comfort, to promote parent participation and confidence, and to provide developmentally appropriate positioning and sensory experience.

The programme includes topics that are of universal interest organised around the key themes of family centred care, which is pivotal in both the philosophy and delivery of high quality neonatal care, and assessment of individual needs through observation of the infant.  These themes are relevant in the neonatal unit, the post-natal wards, and when newborn infants are admitted to paediatric units. 

There will be strong interactive and practical elements to encourage awareness of your own practice and problem solving.  A kit of materials will be provided and further resources will be available on the course website.

The interprofessional team of tutors from several neonatal services includes a range of disciplines - medicine, nursing occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy. They all have advanced training and experience in neonatal developmental care.  

Course Aims

The aim of this course is to provide a comprehensive, evidence based introduction to family centred developmental care that will help you to evaluate practice and identify goals for continuing development.

At the end of the course you will be able to

• Deliver a general orientation to the scope of developmental care e.g. as part of an in-service programme.
• Lead evaluation of strengths and challenges in the nursery environment and caregiving practices
• Actively support and contribute to a developmental care team
• Appraise your own practice and identify your next steps in learning about developmental care. 

Course Methods

• Interactive lectures
• Interactive group work with feedback
• Practical (simulated) demonstrations
• Reflection

Who Should Attend?

The course is designed for clinicians working with hospitalised preterm and newborn infants in neonatal units, and also in transitional care and paediatric units for example

• Neonatal nurses
• Paediatric therapists working with neonates
• Medical staff
• Midwives
• Paediatric nurses
• Nursery nurses

It is particularly relevant for any neonatal professional taking on a leadership or educational role that carries with it responsibility for promoting good practice in developmental care, pain management, and family support.

Certificate of Attendance

All participants will be awarded an Imperial College London Certificate of Attendance on completion of the course.

Future courses in Neonatal Developmental Care

The Foundation Toolkit in Developmental Care is the first in a planned three step pathway of learning. Two more advanced courses are planned for 2012: an Evidence Based Practice module will focus on competence in implementing developmental care: a Critical Analysis module will promote specialised skills in specific areas of developmental care practice with a view to implementing change.