Health Care Professional Interview Emily is a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse of 11 years. Emily routinely provides care for babies as small as 800 grams (about 1 and ¾ pounds), babies born with drug addictions, and the routine twins and triplets born as a result of fertility medications and assisted reproductive technologies (ART). As a strong Christian woman, Emily wasn't sure she could fulfill the tasks required of her when she first came on. Nor did she think she could cope with the occasional “expiration” of a young life. However, after more than a decade, Emily continues to provide exemplary care to babies, and parents alike, in the first few weeks and months of life. Throughout her decade long career, Emily has seen much change and continues to see the landscape transform within her small part of the nursing community. Change in Scenery For over two decades the NICU was comprised of large open bays often housing eight to ten babies in a single space. More similar to a barracks instead of a place of such fragile care, the rooms felt cold and antiquated. Long overdue, the NICU was moved to a brand new state-of-the-art facility to continue their award winning care. Dr. Jeff, the NICU medical director, welcomed the move with open arms stating that “this is like Christmas”. The move provides the fragile lives with brand new high tech equipment and privatized rooms, while providing the nurses and staff with a whole new set of responsibilities. Technology and Implementation of HIT The staff will now have to rely heavily on technology to monitor delicate vital signs and feeding schedules as well as charting assessments. The large panoramic view of a room has been replaced with walls and a nurse watching a com... ... middle of paper ... ...lly dispensed in every situation where reflux was an issue with a baby. That has since changed in the more conservative, minimally invasive approach of healthcare. Zantac is now only given when all other avenues have been exhausted. Conclusion The omnipotent promise of ART, coupled with parents’ deep desires to have their “own child”, overwhelms and overshadows the capacity to think, sometimes with tragic consequences. We see parents who relied on reproductive technologies to conceive now expect other technologies will rescue and maintain their babies. It is heartbreaking to hear NICU parents wonder if their pregnancy would have been healthier and the baby more likely to thrive if they had transferred only one embryo. Or listen to them worry that it was the selective reduction from quads to twins that brought on the premature labor and then birth at only 25 weeks.
Catalano, Michael. "The Prospect of Designer Babies: Is It Inevitable?" The People, Ideas, and Things (PIT) Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.
Nurses play a big role in supporting the parents while their child is in the NICU. Showing compassion and demonstrating caring actions when caring for the patient makes it more likely that the parents will trust the nurse and the information the nurse gives them regarding their child’s condition. This trust is important as it helps the parents feel confident in the decisions they are making about their child’s care. When the parents of an ill child in the NICU have decided to terminate treatment palliative care by the nurse and other healthcare providers comes into play. Palliative care is keeping the child comfortable by treating the symptoms and being there for the parents and child physically, emotionally, and spiritually (Eden & Callister, 2010).
What do one think of when they hear the words “Designer Babies”? A couple designing their own baby of course, and it’s become just that. Technology has made it possible for there to be a way for doctors to modify a babies characteristics and its health. Genetically altering human embryos is morally wrong, and can cause a disservice to the parents and the child its effecting.
Neonatal intensive care units are normally thought as a safe place for a neonatal to be, but there are instances where the neonatal develops an infection in their fragile bodies. This paper examines the ways that they could develop infections that harm them. The ANA states, “individuals who become nurses are expected to adhere to the ideals and morals norms of the profession and also to embrace them as a part of what it means to be a nurse.” (Code of Ethics, n.d.). German NICUs participated in a study of very low birth weight infants (VLBW) from 2006-2011 and found that an outbreak of severe neonatal infection occurred within a period of time in the same center in four different patients (Schwab, 2014).
For this assignment I had the pleasure sitting down with Emily Petermeier and getting an insight on what the real nursing world is like. Emily graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Nursing in May 2015, and got a job at Fairview East Bank Hospital. This interview really helped me understand what it is like to be a new nurse and the dedication that I have to have going through nursing school and throughout my career. In the interview you will see the perspective of Emily’s endeavors after college and insight for future nurses or nursing students.
Designer Babies: What are the Ethical and Moral Issues by TK McGhie and Designer Babies: Choosing Our Children’s Genes by Bonnie Steinbock both cover the controversy around an ever growing, ever prominent field of biotechnology. These articles focus on the recent trend of the concept that parents can essentially design the baby of their dreams. Designer babies are not an actual in use trend, but it is a very real hypothetical one. The idea of designer babies first originated in 1978, the day of the first successful in vitro fertilization. From there, more and more technology has become readily available to help improve the lives of unborn children. These two articles are about the same fundamental subject but, they differ from each
Conceiving a baby can be easy for some couples and difficult for others. In fact, some couples can do so naturally and others may need some professional help or even to the point where adoption is the only possibility available. When given the option of professional help, we need to look at the big picture and think about the moral, immoral and ethical part of this delicate subject. However, while it may be difficult for some couples to conceive a baby, there are many methods that can possibly work and that’s when ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) becomes a great part of it. As far as the moral and ethical part, some people would disagree to this new technology such as IVF (in vitro fertilization), surrogacy, egg transfer, intrauterine insemination, etc.
The addition of a child into a family’s home is a happy occasion. Unfortunately, some families are unable to have a child due to unforeseen problems, and they must pursue other means than natural pregnancy. Some couples adopt and other couples follow a different path; they utilize in vitro fertilization or surrogate motherhood. The process is complicated, unreliable, but ultimately can give the parents the gift of a child they otherwise could not have had. At the same time, as the process becomes more and more advanced and scientists are able to predict the outcome of the technique, the choice of what child is born is placed in the hands of the parents. Instead of waiting to see if the child had the mother’s eyes, the father’s hair or Grandma’s heart problem, the parents and doctors can select the best eggs and the best sperm to create the perfect child. Many see the rise of in vitro fertilization as the second coming of the Eugenics movement of the 19th and early 20th century. A process that is able to bring joy to so many parents is also seen as deciding who is able to reproduce and what child is worthy of birthing.
For one woman, this vision of childbirth is not the norm. Ana Rhodes is a midwife, and she is one of the only birth attendants available to...
Foht, Brendan P. "Three-Parent Embryos Illustrate Ethical Problems with Technologies." Medical Ethics, edited by Noël Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2015. Current Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,
As of 1995, 20,000 babies had been born as a result of ART treatments.2 Since then, many women and couples have sought the services of IVF clinics all over the world with hopes of the miracle of conception. These people are usually ones who suffer from some sort of condition that renders them inferti...
Stability is the key to have healthy patients. Neonatal Nurses are incredible nurses to have in the healthcare facility. All Nurses can provide the same care and dependability in caring for their patient. Nurses are very consistent in the job that they perform. Being consistent, is a very good quality a nurse should have. Nurses gain feelings, and heavier bonds with their patients than doctors. Nurses grow more attached to their patients because of the care provided. Doctor’s have a lot of patients that they have to provide for and prescribe medicine to, so trying to bond with patients is not a huge goal for them as it is for a nurse. Nurses develop their patients to feel welcome and that they can be trusted to provide the patient the proper care, giving the patient various opportunities to ask questions if needed. Doctors spend less time with their patients than nurses. Neonatal nurses are able to build long-lasting relationships, sometimes short-term but that is what a nurse is mainly focused on when doing their job to be successful in the health of the patient.
Medicine, medical supplies, and medical treatment are multi-billion dollar industries crucial to the wellbeing of the public. Doctors and other members of the health-care industry do their best to provide excellent care for the nation’s sick and injured, while scientists and researchers work to develop new drugs and technologies to fight disease. We often view medical care as a basic human right; something that all persons, rich or poor, should have access to in times of need. But despite our notions of what healthcare should be, those who make a living in this industry, specifically owners of firms, must contend with the same economic questions facing businesses in any industry. To learn more about this vast service industry, I interviewed Dr. Martin Slez, a dentist/oral surgeon and owner of a medical practice that provides both general care and specialized treatments for oral diseases. Of the topics discussed, firm goals, pricing, costs, and technology stood out as particularly interesting and unique facets of the organization, as they differed considerably from those in other industries.
However, nurses in the maternity ward have expressed their deepest concerns about meeting the needs of first time mother on discharge education during their stay in the hospital. Some of the nurses’ concerns include the lack of time and the amount of information they are required to equip the first time mothers to care for their newborn. Mothers have also reported dissatisfaction with the discharge education provided by the hospital. One of which that causes their frustration was the inconsistent breast feeding information and the need for more information about newborn care which was not covered by the hospital. (Barbara L. Buchko C. H., National Center for Biotechnology Info...
This week’s clinical experience has been unlike any other. I went onto the unit knowing that I needed to be more independent and found myself to be both scared and intimidated. However, having the patients I did made my first mother baby clinical an exciting experience. I was able to create connections between what I saw on the unit and the theory we learned in lectures. In addition, I was able to see tricks other nurses on the unit have when providing care, and where others went wrong. Being aware of this enabled me to see the areas of mother baby nursing I understood and areas I need to further research to become a better nurse.