Program Overview

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Neonatal Omvĺrdnad med Inriktning mot Intensivvĺrd

Overview

The course focuses on neonatal nursing with a specialization in intensive care, aiming to broaden and deepen the student's competence in high-specialized neonatal care.

Course Description

The course is designed for specialist nurses with previous education and/or experience in high-specialized pediatric care, intensive care, anesthesiology, or midwifery. It covers advanced neonatal care, including respiratory physiology, nutrition, fluid and electrolyte balance, pharmacology, and pain management.

Objectives

After completing the course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of symptoms, treatment, and care for complex conditions and diseases in newborns requiring neonatal intensive care
• Identify and analyze care needs and interventions for sick newborns based on developmental support and family-centered care
• Show knowledge and insight into crisis and grief reactions in families and relatives during neonatal intensive care
• Demonstrate the ability to integrate the care process by assessing, arguing for, and handling complex situations with limited information
• Argue for a patient-safe approach to advanced clinical skills in neonatal intensive care
• Analyze and reflect on relevant science and proven experience in neonatal care

Content

The course covers:

• Neonatal anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology
• Respiratory physiology and support for respiratory failure
• Nutrition, fluid and electrolyte balance, pharmacology, and drug treatment
• Pain physiology, pain assessment, and pain relief methods
• Pregnancy and childbirth complications
• Breast milk production and breastfeeding
• Developmental support and family-centered care
• Emergency care for newborns
• Care during neonatal transport within and outside the hospital
• Care for newborns with complex conditions in intensive care
• Care for newborns with long-term intensive care needs and sick or preterm babies from a life perspective
• Palliative care for newborns and family support during crisis reactions
• Ethical, societal, sustainability, and patient safety aspects, as well as interprofessional collaboration in neonatal care

Teaching Methods

The teaching is based on a problem-oriented and collaborative approach to learning, where the working methods provide opportunities for the student to take active responsibility for their learning. The methods used include introductory lectures and student-activating teaching (individually, in groups, and in seminar form).

Examination

Examination takes place in the form of a seminar and an individual assignment.

Special Eligibility

At least 120 higher education credits, including a specialist nursing degree with a focus on health and medical care for children and adolescents, ambulance care, anesthesiology, intensive care, or midwifery. Additionally, Swedish B/Swedish 3 and English A/English 6 with a passing grade are required.

Literature

The course literature includes:

• Akut pediatrik (Latest edition)
• Merenstein & Gardner's handbook of neonatal intensive care (9th edition)
• Neonatal intensive care nursing (Third edition)
• Omvĺrdnad för barn och unga - pĺ avancerad nivĺ (Latest edition)

Transition Provisions

Examination will be available for two years after a potential course closure. Examination can take place according to the previous literature list for one year after a literature update.

Other Provisions

Course evaluation is conducted according to guidelines established by the Committee for Education at the Basic and Advanced Level (KU) at Karolinska Institutet.

Teaching is conducted in Swedish, but may occasionally be in English.

The course may not be credited in an exam simultaneously with a completed and passed course whose content entirely or partially matches the content of this course.