1. Bridging the Gap Between Parents and The NICU:
Independent Study Mentorship (ISM)
Caylee Forschner, Roxanne Brown MA, Alvaro Moreira MD
Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX
References upon request
ISM
• This is an upperclassman elective
offered at Clark High School (CHS)
preparing students for college and
the future workforce
• Students choose their field of study
and contact a mentor to guide their
research project and provide hands-
on experiences
• The course culminates with a one
hour oral presentation discussing the
student’s observations and mentored
project
• Over the last nine months I have
focused my efforts on studying the
sub-specialty of neonatology
Results
• Launched www.nicu4u.com on
April 19th 2015
• Website encompasses 6 tabs
including “The NICU”, “NICU
Glossary”, “Common Diagnoses”,
“For Parents”, “Stories from the
NICU”, and “References”
• Presented research and website to
CHS faculty and students
• To date, we have had more than
40 visitors to the site
Goals
Appreciating a gap between families and health care providers,
we decided to create a website aiming to help parents
understand the care their baby is receiving in the neonatal
intensive care unit.
Methods
Scholarly activities employed during this course incorporated
multiple methods, including:
• Viewing documentaries - 1) ”23 Week Babies: The Price of
Life” by BBC 2) ”The NICU: Parent’s Talk” by Kids Health 3)
“The Bird Man of Idaho” by CBS
• Reading multiple articles/books related to neonatology, i.e. -
1) “The Evolution of Neonatology” by Alistair Philip 2)
“Stridor in the Neonate” by Stephanie Hom 3) “Neonatology”
by Tricia Gomella
• Personal interviews with neonatal/pediatric intensive care
unit personnel at UTHSCSA
• Shadowing neonatal rounds on 2 separate occasions
• Researching several online websites for reference
Future Plans
• We will be discussing with
University Health System the
possibility of handing pamphlets/
cards referencing the website to
parents of babies admitted to the
NICU
• I have contacted the writers of
NICU blogs referenced on
nicu4u.com and anticipate referral
of their viewers to our website
Background
• Every year 10% to 15% of babies
born in the U.S are admitted to the
NICU
• 1 in 8 babies are born prematurely
each year
• Doctors use terms and statistics
that intimidate parents because they
often don’t fully understand them
• Parents describe the NICU
environment as overwhelming and
distressing