The 4-1-1 On Taking Home Your New Baby
- Using a checklist of important topics as a teaching tool for new parents at discharge with their new baby
- Speaking with them at a time when they are most likely to understand and take in the information
- Creating a script for nurses that doesn't feel rehearsed or fake
What can your team do to improve your communication with patients?
All new parents have something to learn when it's time to take their baby home from the hospital. That's why the NICU unit in Panorama City upped its game with a survey and tip sheet they give to all new parents. The survey measures a parent's knowledge of important topics such as car seats and SIDS. The proportion of parents who said nurses explained the instructions to them in a way they could follow jumped from 87.5 percent to 100 percent.
In many ways, new parents have no idea what they're getting into. But a little coaching and some simple instructions can help them be on their way to becoming a family.
Helping parents with their new baby is an important first step. Pictured left to right are Panorama City Charge Nurse Lori Speers and RN Emma Luz Yabut, both members of UNAC/UHCP.
patients who said they understood the instructions as explained, up from 87.5 percent