Eat, Sleep, Console
Summary
The fellowship I choose to complete was Eat, Sleep, Console. Making a change from Finnigan Scores to this new model, I believe will be a positive change and experience for our patients and families. This new model will focus on 3 aspects, eating, sleeping and consoling, while we monitor newborns during their substance withdrawal period in hospital. We will provide support to families to help make it less stressful and hopefully decrease length of stay in hospital along with reducing pharmacological treatment needs. We will provide education and support for the newborn experiencing NAS (neonatal abstinence syndrome) focusing on Eat, Sleep, Console and maximizing non-pharmacological strategies and implementing pharmacological treatment only when necessary according to the new model and guidelines published by the Provincial Health Services Authority in British Colombia.
The chance to work with multi disciplinary stakeholders was a great learning opportunity offered a wealth of knowledge because of their experience. Working with a Neonatologist was a wonderful experience. She provided a lot of support and feedback. I learned so much from all the stakeholders. They provided experience and support, along with positive feedback that allowed for a great learning opportunity. During the research phase I was able to see from many different hospitals, the positive aspects that families have gained from this new model and how beneficial this will be to our patients. I have learned what is required to have this new model implemented into a hospital such as order changes, research and collaboration from colleagues, policy changes and education needed for staff. I was able to provide education to staff of the new changes and answer questions based on the new research and experience I have had for the last 22 years working as a Paediatric RN.
Outcomes
The outcome of this new model will be to decrease length of stay in hospital and decrease the need for pharmacological treatment during the hospital period for newborns at risk of substance withdrawal. We will provide education and support using the model of Eat, Sleep, Console and implement these as treatments for newborns during their withdrawal period. We will empower families to feel included in the care and treatment of their newborns, we will have a person and family centered approach, we will keep mothers and their newborns together, improve maternal and newborn outcomes, give the families a feeling of success after they are discharged, provide a positive hospital experience while in a stressful situation, and provide a collaboration between healthcare providers and the family, recognizing that the family plays an integral role in the care of their newborn.
While working with colleagues and stakeholders, they were supportive and excited for this new model to be provided to our families and patients. They provided a lot of feedback and resources to me while being positive and encouraging. I was able to work alongside a Neonatologist and was grateful for everything I learned from her experience. I am so grateful for a supportive and experienced team to work with and feel like this was a wonderful learning opportunity. Together as a team we are looking forward to this opportunity and feel excited to be able to offer this new model of care to our families and newborns during the withdrawal period.
Overall experience
This has been an incredible learning opportunity for me. I have never done anything like this before and I was so overwhelmed in the beginning when I started this experience. I did my research to learn more about the topic and try to improve my knowledge base: I worked with my fellow educator to learn about policy and procedures and what was needed to have those updated and approved for our unit, I worked with our social worker to get a better understanding about NAS from her perspective and what she sees and thinks our patients would benefit from, and I learned about what is required for having order sets changed and what was needed for the process. I enjoyed working along the side of my colleagues to learn more and improve the care we will offer our families and patients. I learned so much more about the topic I chose to work on. NAS is a big part of our everyday life and community and having the chance to implement this new model for our families is exciting. I look forward to helping facilitate the model Eat Sleep Console on our unit and bringing the best experiences to our community and families. I look forward to teaching staff and colleagues about this new model and hearing their feedback. I am excited to see this new model come into play in the way we care for our patients and families and to see how it can make their time in hospital a better and more positive experience. I am sure my colleagues will see a positive change in how we offer care to our patients, their families and our community. I enjoyed working with everyone and learning as much as I could about Eat Sleep Console and how we can better support our families and newborns going through the withdrawal period and helping them during a difficult time. I hope this change is a positive one for everyone. Thank you for this incredible opportunity.
