Intro to NICU OT

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.

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.

• Intro

• Discussion

  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 the key terms in this space — neurodevelopment, neuroprotection, neurobehavioral, and 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

• Closing

• 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

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.

OT Potential pays guest speakers an honorarium for their participation, either directly or to an institution of the speaker's choosing at their request. We invite guests whose expertise often comes from practices, programs, or building products in their field. Where a speaker has a financial interest in the subject of a course, we disclose it below so you can weigh it for yourself.

OT Potential's interest in this topic: We have no financial stake in this topic.

Speaker interests: Nicole Bazinet is the founder of bwellbaby, a private practice offering personalized infant development support to families — including the hospital-to-home transition discussed in this course. She is also a board-certified lactation consultant.