Intro to NICU OT

Earn 1 hour of continuing education by joining OT Potential after taking this course.

Course Description

Occupational therapy in the NICU is one of the most specialized and sensitive practice areas in our profession. The transition from traditional clinical settings to the high-stakes, high-tech environment of neonatal care requires a fundamental shift in how we approach both assessment and intervention.

Whether you are an OT looking to move into the NICU or a pediatric therapist wanting to better understand the early medical history of the infants on your caseload, this course will walk you through essential neuroprotective strategies that optimize long-term outcomes.

You’ll leave more confident in navigating the complexities of neonatal care—from performing specialized assessments to implementing interventions that protect the developing brain. Joining us for this course is neonatal therapist and lactation consultant, Nicole Bazinet, MS, OTR/L, IBCLC, CNT, NTMTC, who will share hard-earned advice from her years in this setting.

In this course, we will cover:

• OT assessment
• Common interventions
• Partnering with parents

You will leave this course empowered to support our tiniest patients and their families during this critical window of development.

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OT Potential courses are presented as live webinars, then released on-demand video and audio via the OT Potential Podcast. Attendance in the live webinar will be indicated on your certificate. Learn more about how our courses help meet live webinar requirements, and OT CEU requirements overall.

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Learning Objectives

1. You will recognize occupation-based assessments OTs utilize in the NICU.
2. You will be able to identify evidence-based OT interventions for supporting infants and families in neonatal settings.

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Discussion (40 minutes)

1. To start, could you share your story of how you became a NICU therapist?
2. What is the role of an OT in the NICU?
3. Can you define “neurodevelopment”,  “neuroprotection” and “neurobehavioral” “developmental care”
4. Why are occupational therapists best suited for the NICU?
5. What is the fundamental mindset shift an OT must make when transitioning from traditional pediatrics to the high-acuity NICU environment? 
6. What does a typical day look like?
7. What are your go-to assessment tools for evaluating such a vulnerable population?
8. What interventions do you find yourself returning to most often to support neuroprotection?
9. How do you navigate “partnering with parents” when they are often in a state of medical trauma?
10.  With your experience in private practice, how can NICU OTs best set families up for success during the “service cliff” transition from hospital to home?

Live Q&A (10 min)

Closing (5 min)

Supporting Research and Journal Articles

• Effect of neonatal therapy on the motor, cognitive, and behavioral development of infants born preterm: a systematic review
• An evolving role in the NICU: a study of the tasks, knowledge, skills, and practice demographics of the neonatal therapist
• Building Strong Foundations in the NICU: Reducing Risk Factors of Postpartum Depression Through Occupational Therapy

Target Audience/Educational Level

Our target audience is occupational therapy practitioners who are looking to learn about intro to NICU OT. The educational level is introductory.

Financial and Non-financial Disclosures

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic.

Speakers

Nicole Bazinet, MS, OTR/L, IBCLC, CNT, NTMTC

Nicole is an occupational therapist and board-certified lactation consultant with over 20 years of experience working with infants and families in their homes, daycares, and hospital setting. With a background as an infant-toddler teacher and years spent supporting fragile newborns in the NICU, Nicole has dedicated her career to helping babies eat, move, and play. She is also the founder of bwellbaby, where she offers expert, personalized care to help families feel confident and empowered in supporting their baby’s development from the very beginning.

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L

Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011.

Since then, she’s worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. Sarah is the founder/owner of OT Potential. Read more about OT Potential here.

This course was designed to meet your continuing education requirements

We designed the courses in the Club to meet the requirements for “online” and “independent/self-study” courses. To verify the requirements from your specific state (within the US), check out our post, OT Continuing Education Requirements. If you are outside of the United States and have questions, please contact us.

We are proud to be an AOTA Approved Provider and to meet the requirements for your NBCOT renewal.

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