How did you become interested in the NICU?
I moved from musculoskeletal private practice work to paediatric physiotherapy in the hospital system 15 years ago. At the time I was looking for a change of physio direction and a part-time job covering both NICU, and paediatric inpatient and outpatient work being advertised at our local hospital piqued my interest. A visit to the NICU as part of my preparation for my application convinced me this was a space I wished to excel in. I reflected on my own transition to motherhood with a sense of empathy and compassion for new mothers and had a level of excitement to have the opportunity to learn and be challenged in this new specialty area of physiotherapy. I cover NICU and the 0-2 age group for our paediatric outpatient clinic.
What initiatives are your working on right now?
Eight years ago, we began to implement the use of the GMA into our NICU research and then into routine clinical practice for our high-risk babies. Most recently we have looked at how we can implement the New Zealand best practice guidelines for early diagnosis of cerebral palsy into our clinical space. We have worked on creating a hub to support our regional centers with scoring and interpretation of results, as well as implementing a multidisciplinary, three-month follow-up clinic for our local babies. This clinic has allowed us to review assessments with the family and what they may mean (risk of CP/ no CP/ risk of mild motor-sensory challenges or developmental delay) and then provide further support and advice where needed from an earlier age. An added function of this clinic has been to support our community developmental therapists with the triaging of babies on their waitlist for ongoing early intervention, as well as trying to break down silos between the inpatient service and the community teams. Our research on setting up this clinic has been published and two further articles are pending.
Closer to home, we are reviewing our prone positioning and are making some unit-wide changes and recommendations in this space.
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What made you become a Member of NANT? When I began this professional journey, I sought out every education opportunity possible and came across NANT, which was still in its infancy. I embraced this learning avenue because I only had, at that time, one other neonatal physiotherapy colleague I knew in New Zealand to chat to. Neonatal therapy specialization remains a niche space in New Zealand hospitals and Special Care Baby Units (SCBUs), with few specifically trained therapists (PT, OT, SLT) across the country. NANT therefore provided an indirect mentoring space for me. COVID then opened the door further to more online courses, both through NANT and other groups, which has been a gift for continued education. NANT has allowed me to be connected to a large community of skilled professionals for support, learning, validation, reflection, and critique. This has been and continues to be invaluable. You received one of NANT’s International Scholarships to attend the in-person conference in 2025. What was the most valuable part of the experience? What a privilege to receive this opportunity! I had many valuable and happy experiences during my trip to Indianapolis. Without a doubt, it was an amazing feeling to be in a room with more than 600 similarly passionate neonatal therapists! The dancing and camaraderie at the black and white dinner was fun, the learning opportunities were great, meeting with some of the tradeshow people and to review and hold products in real time was helpful. I loved meeting and talking with different therapists and hearing how they practice. I was especially humbled by one lovely, kind lady, who linked in with me during the conference and really made me feel that I belonged and was part of this large “neonatal therapy family”. Perhaps one of the most valuable opportunities created by travelling to the United States was arranging to visit neonatal therapists at their units before the conference. I had two days visiting two different hospitals, which provided invaluable learning time being able to observe both similarities and differences in practice. I was able to gather new ideas and considerations for both improvement and change in my unit. The therapists I met on these visits were kind, passionate and generous in sharing their knowledge and resources. It was really nice to have their friendly faces to look out for during the conference as well. I hope I can reciprocate one day and have them visit me in New Zealand. I would urge other fortunate recipients of this scholarship to take some extra days to visit other NICUs as a must-do. Just ensure that you meet local hospital vaccination requirements, which may be different from your home country. |
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We glean so much from our international Members. What do you want the world to know about the practice of Neonatal Physiotherapy in New Zealand? Well, first, New Zealand is a great place to live. We love the outdoors, food, family, and friends. Someone at the conference asked me what it was like to live on an island? We are a little different from the Pacific Islands, where we might go to laze on the beach and get a suntan! New Zealand is quite a big country, with varying landscapes, including mountains and volcanic areas, and providing varying experiences. So, if you plan to come, aim to stay for at least a couple of weeks, so you can explore a little of both main islands. According to 2024 statistics, 8% of New Zealand babies born are preterm or require acute care in a NICU. As we know, the developmental trajectory of these babies changes at the time of birth and our neonatal therapy lens is a valuable contribution and service to the baby, family, and wider team as we provide neuroprotective habilitative and rehabilitative care and support that encompasses Kevin Nugent’s considered question of “who is this baby?”. How can we as a team, optimize infant neurodevelopment, support early parenting skills, and empower positive family dynamics that help to ensure a solid foundation for babies for future developmental and life opportunities and experiences? Here in New Zealand, we are a very small group of therapists providing neonatal care in our tertiary centers and regional SCBUs. We are passionate and love our work. We continue to work hard in our units, regions and with our managers, advocating for more FTE and support for this emerging specialty role. |