How do I get involved in Neonatal Research or Conferences

[salaw]

Hi,

I've been working NICU for quite a while. However, I'm getting tired of the hospital schedule. I'd love to get involved in neontal research, or get involved in conferences for NICU nurses/staff. Any ideas on how I go about this? Anyone have any contacts?

[umcRN, BSN, RN]

Do you work in a teaching hospital? That's where the research is going to be happening. I know quite a few nurses at my hospital that went from bedside to research

[umcRN, BSN, RN]

Also as far as conferences go you can become a member of NANN NANN Index and maybe find contacts through them for research

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Suggest you pursue your MSN if you're not already doing so. This will provide you with the knowledge, access & structural support you need to become personally involved with nursing research. Medical research involvement is usually limited to serving in a quasi-technical or admin support role.

[umcRN, BSN, RN]

That's true, you probably will need an MSN

[lamazeteacher]

Before making any change occupationally and educationally, I'd suggest that you go to websites regarding neonatal research in progress.

Find out how the funding of research projects is achieved, as that will indicate what level of nurses are employed. It seems to me that meaningful research of premies involves the inhibition of premature birth, and appropriate protocols upon admission. That is done mainly after the actual work is done, with chart reviews to estimate what works. You need a lot (years) of experience in NICU as a staff member.

Advances occur slowly, as the result of off site lobbying. However once that happens, research needs to be ongoing. (I'm thinking about how parental involvement in premie care was started.)

[klone, MSN, RN]

There are not a ton of facilities in the country that do ongoing research of enrolled infant subjects (as opposed to retrospective case studies). Off the top of my head, some of those facilities are CHOP, OHSU, UCDenver, Cincinnati, Iowa, Indianapolis, Duke, UCLA, and some others. So you would need to live in one of those areas that has a large teaching hospital with a NICU.

[umcRN, BSN, RN]

Children's national medical center does both research in the nicu as well as fetal/neonatal research in the cardiac icu although I don't know how much nursing directed research is done in the nicu, there is quite a bit in the cardiac icu

[salaw]

Thanks everyone!