Advanced Staff Training
Funding the most Advanced Staff Training & Professional Development
Every year we fund members of the unit’s medical and nursing staff to attend seminars, workshops and other training events both at home and around the world. We also fund advanced educational qualifications for several of our medical and nursing staff, allowing them to grow their knowledge and bring specialist expertise into the unit.
Video Laryngoscope
The standard laryngoscope only allows one person to look into the baby’s mouth to see a view of the voice box (or larynx) at the top of the windpipe. The breathing tube is then gently passed into the windpipe. There are now high-tech laryngoscopes (called video laryngoscopes) available which have tiny cameras on them that display the view of the voice box on a screen. Simpsons Special Care Babies kindly provided funding for video laryngoscopes for us to use on the neonatal unit.
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Advanced staff training
This equipment has many benefits for babies and staff. The equipment is state of the art and the quality of video on the screen is fantastic. It makes obtaining a clear view of the voice box easier, which can sometimes be challenging in babies.
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Teaching neonatal staff
It allows us to provide higher quality teaching of this highly specialised skill. Staff can first learn from the expertise of others by watching on the screen whilst a colleague performs the procedure. Senior staff can then directly assist staff who are developing this skill by sharing the view of the voice box and providing direct feedback.
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Specialist training in baby development
Some babies who are cared for in the neonatal unit are at risk of developing difficulties with movement or other areas of development later in childhood. After these babies go home, they are followed up closely by an expert team who assess their development until they are 2 years old. If required, the team can then provide individualised treatment, advice, and support for families.
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Prechtl’s General Movements Assessment is one assessment carried out by this team. It involves assessing the pattern of spontaneous movements made by a baby during a video recording. Videos can be taken on the neonatal unit or sent in by parents through a secure system once a baby has gone home. It is completely non-invasive for babies and the video recordings only need to last a few minutes.
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VON
The Vermont Oxford Network (VON) is an international multidisciplinary network for Quality Improvement in Neonatology. Membership enables the Unit to measure and compare its outcomes with those of more than 1000 other neonatal units worldwide. Network units share quality improvement success stories to improve each other’s care and outcomes.We fund 6 places each year for staff to attend the VON Annual Quality Congress in the USA and pay for the neonatal unit annual subscription for membership of VON. To learn more about how staff have benefited from this view our stories.
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Educational Grants
Educational Grants for Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioners (ANNPs). We provide grants of £1,000 per person per year to undertake specialist training courses in order to ensure babies in the unit get the best possible care.
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Software
We also pay the annual software licence fee, to enable staff to have access to the VON network, and participate in video conferencing and gain access to research papers online.
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