Surveys and Child Life!

Hi there!

This week was slightly different than because I started interviewing various healthcare professionals with a short survey. In order to learn more about the NICU’s and Pediatric Surgery’s opinions on Family Centered Care, I had created a short survey from which I will later analyze to see to what extent it is implemented and to what extent it affects the care. I'm hoping that over the course of the next few weeks, I can interview as many people as possible from both departments.

So this week in the NICU, I shadowed CCN (Continued Care Nursing) again. Coincidentally, the time that I arrived was the same time that the ophthalmologists had come again to perform eye exams. As the doctor himself wasn’t able to come but his assistants were, they took pictures of the eye and retina rather than the doctor looking directly in the infant’s eyes. I could see a close up image of the eye on the monitor, and it was very interesting to see the difference between babies with completely healthy eyes and babies that show slight Retinopathy of Immaturity. If you don’t remember from my post from two weeks ago, ROP is a common disease that can occur in premature babies. It causes abnormal blood vessels to grow in the retina (the layer of nerve tissue in the eye that enables us to see) which can cause it to detach from the back of the eye, leading to blindness. In the past, oxygen saturation levels weren’t as regulated for preterm newborns in comparison to today.

The retina detached back of the eye due to ROP

Besides observing the eye exams and the care for the babies for the day, I also got the chance to interview three of the nurses and PCA’s with the survey,.

At Pediatric Surgery this week, I was introduced to a very nice lady who was the department’s child life specialist. A child life specialist is pediatric health care professional who works with children and their families in hospitals and other healthcare settings to help them cope with the challenges of hospitalization, illness, and disability. For this department specifically, she helps children and families to understand and cope with the various aspects related to surgery. Her entire work is surrounded by the concept of Family Centered Care, so I was very excited to spent a few hours with her as she showed me around the various rooms and explained to me the different experiences they try to give to the children and the family.

She showed me the various items that they give to children to relax them such as toys, customized pillow cases, cartoon blankets, stickers, or colored medical equipment. Along with that, she showed me around the post-operation floor where patients recover after surgery. The entire floor was painted with colorful colors, each room seeming like a “house”. There were also three or four “quiet rooms” on the floor where families could go and relax or do extra research. Additionally, she showed me the “school rooms”, where kids could go to catch up on homework, learn something new or just play as they would in school in elementary school, and a huge auditorium like room with a stage, a TV, a mini basketball hoop, and video games. This room was an event room where they hosts play and performances weekly and plan events so that children can escape the boredom and fear that they have in the hospital. These are just few of the many areas and aspects of what she covers on a daily basis. It was very enlightening to get to talk with her about not only the positive aspects of family centered care and how from the conversations to just a simple sticker can make a difference in the patients’ and families’ emotional state, but also about the difficulties that come along. Whether it be cultural differences, families with internal or personal issues, or a new topic of LGBTQ+ that wasn't always something that was considered in the past, the time I spent with her was definitely very informative in regards to my project, and I’m glad I got the chance to see and hear what it’s actually like having family centered care in action.

Besides that, I also witnessed a Laparoscopic Pyloromyotomy procedure, which is a surgical approach in which a cleft is made in the longitudinal and disk shaped muscles of the pylorus (the opening from the stomach into the small intestines). This technique is used to cure pyloric stenosis, a condition in which the opening between the stomach and small intestine thickens. In the course of surgery, a slit is made in the pylorus, which will loosen the tightness of the muscle so as the stomach can vacant and food will be capable to move conveniently into the small intestine. Here's a picture I found that summarizes the process of the procedure in four steps:

An incision being made into the pylorus

Anyways, I hope everyone is having a great start to Spring!