Developing competency in the neonatal intensive care unit: a hospital training program.

There are few specialized programs available to train occupational therapists and physical therapists to treat competently in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), yet hospitals are trying to fill such positions, and the need for advanced training is essential. A hospital-based program that provides clinical NICU training to therapists from other hospitals is presented. The program is short-term and highly individualized and emphasizes learning pertinent medical information, nonintrusive evaluation skills, and therapeutic intervention with advanced clinical judgment.