Neonatal Therapists are Blooming Across the Globe: One Therapist’s Journey
Have you ever wondered what neonatal therapy looks like abroad? How our NICU practices might differ and what challenges we have in common? Meet NANT …
We’re an organization full of passionate neonatal therapists who aim to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes for premature and sick infants. This is what we love. And they (babies and families) are why we do the work.
Sue Ludwig
During my years as a national consultant, I noted that while some NICUs had robust and deeply experienced neonatal therapy (OT, PT, SLP) teams, others had none. Alternately, some therapists were told to just ‘cover’ the NICU without being properly trained or mentored in age-appropriate care. And here’s the thing: if I was a parent sitting at the bedside of my fragile 2 pound daughter, and a therapist began seeing her, I would completely assume that the therapist was specially trained to work in such a unique environment. In the early-mid 2000s, I couldn’t swear that was the case, not consistently, not all over the U.S. or all over the world. Neonatal therapists are a highly professional, passionate, and driven group of people. I knew we could do (and wanted to do) better. It started to keep me up at night.
What happened from that moment until the official founding of NANT in October of 2009 is a longer story for another time.
For now, know this: the work you do as a neonatal therapist is life-altering. Your work positively affects the trajectory of a baby’s development for a lifetime. In order to advance this specialty clinically, scientifically, and academically, you need reliable resources and a community of people who truly understand what you do for a living. You also need to be sustained personally, yes, personally. Why? Because WHO YOU ARE as you put your hands inside the portholes of the incubator matters to the tiny person who is on the receiving end of you.
NANT is designed to support you professionally and personally. It is an honor and a privilege to serve you.
Professional Partners for NICU Education
Assessment and Intervention with the High Risk Infant in the NICU and During the Transition to Home
Presented by Roberta Pineda
October 18, 2019 – October 19, 2019 Kansas City, MO
November 15, 2019 – November 16, 2019 Valhalla, NY
Tangible. Specialized. Current. Connected.
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Build expertise at your own pace. Access highly specialized content presented by experts in the field on your own schedule.
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Keeping up with current evidence and practice shouldn’t feel like a mandatory sentence. We want it to feel simple and accessible. Once a month you’re invited to participate LIVE in an online Special Topic Call (webinar style) presented by expert clinicians and researchers in the field of neonatal therapy.
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Do you ever wonder if you’re doing the right thing at the bedside? Or how other NICUs manage certain patient populations or challenges? Or who to connect with (in the world) regarding your latest QI or research project? (You’re not alone!) We created a safe place for you to find answers to your most urgent questions. During monthly Inner Circle Mentoring Calls you gain reliable access to real humans who know a lot about what keeps you up at night.
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Feel the relief of finally connecting with people who understand what you do for a living. Whether online or at our annual national event, you’ll find that NANT Members are highly collaborative, friendly, and clearly driven by a shared vision to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes for infants and families.
Have you ever wondered what neonatal therapy looks like abroad? How our NICU practices might differ and what challenges we have in common? Meet NANT …
Whether you’re a neonatal therapist or not, work in healthcare or not, I think you’ll enjoy knowing that people really do care this much about …
I walk into the NICU like any other normal day at work. Except it isn’t normal. I’d spent the predawn hours forcing myself into a …
