A Exploring the Unknown: Comparing Physical Therapy Neonatal Competencies Across Hospital Systems

This presentation compares the development and implementation of competency checklists for orienting and mentoring practitioner that supports the needs of management, patients and NICU therapist's. Competencies from four NICUs across the US were compared by three neonatal physical therapists via a coding system. After coding, themes arose which described similarities which were then referenced back to the published physical therapy competencies. This varied between hospitals, depending on specific rehabilitation professionals employed, the evolution of NICU status and the complexity of the patient. The neonatal therapist has a unique opportunity to utilize the information from this study to bridge the gap between the operational management and the educational demands of the rehabilitation therapist in the NICU team.