Synergy Case Study: Neonatal Intensive Care

Describe the Case The concept of Synergy can be applied to the practice of nursing by means of education and service. To obtain Synergy in nursing the nurse’s knowledge and skills are able to meet the individual needs of the patient population that is presented. Currently in Western Pennsylvania, there is a rising number maternal substance abuse during pregnancy. This epidemic in turn creates a different type of population in infants than other areas of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), with specific healthcare needs. One area that is lacking synergy is the care of this rising patient population of infants suffering from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). This creates a gap between nursing education and clinical application.
For the NAS population advocacy, clinical judgment, caring practices and facilitation of learning are most important. Advocacy proposes the nurse to serve as a moral agent to work on the infant’s behalf in order to provide the greatest good to help resolve concerns that are both clinical and ethical. Clinical judgment is the ability for the nurse to take on the leadership role to care for their patient. Infants are unable to make healthcare decisions; the nurse must consider the parent’s wishes and what the result the nurses’ actions will yield for this infant. These actions must positively contribute to their plan of care overall. Caring practices creates a compassionate and therapeutic environment for each the patients, recognizing the unique needs of each infant. The nurse acts as a facilitator of learning when he/she incorporates the understanding of the infant’s family into the
Educating staff will allow for a balance of practice and the nurses actions. Instituting this educational program will provide synergy to the NICU units and the epidemic of withdraw infants. The unit directors will be able to see that the changes to the unit and education instituted has worked when NAS infants have a shorter hospital stay, a decrease in the use of morphine and phenobarbital and finally patient/parental and nurse