Student experiences in the neonatal intensive care unit: addendum to neonatal physical therapy competencies and clinical training models.

PURPOSE

To describe the appropriate experience for entry-level physical therapist students in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

KEY POINTS

Care for infants in the NICU represents a subspecialty within pediatric physical therapy delivered in a very complex environment. Recommendations for designing student educational experiences related to the NICU are provided.

CONCLUSIONS/PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Supervised observation is the appropriate level of NICU experience for physical therapy students. Observation in the NICU cannot be used to demonstrate entry-level clinical competency defined as managing 100% patient caseload in the setting. Additional closely supervised experiences with older, less fragile infants and children in neonatal follow-up clinics and pediatric wards can provide opportunities for entry-level physical therapist students interested in pediatrics to participate in examination and intervention with young children.