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Duties of an NICU

A hospital's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a specialized health care facility that is staffed by medical professionals who are trained to care for sick or premature newborns. NICUs, sometimes referred to as special care nurseries, intensive care nurseries or newborn intensive care units, typically contain specialized medical equipment designed for distressed infants, including those who had difficulty during the birth process, those who were born prematurely and those who developed significant health problems during the first days after birth.

  1. Immediate care

    • NICU unit staff perform a number of health care procedures on an infant immediately upon admittance into the NICU to help monitor the baby's condition, according to the Holden Newborn Intensive Care Unit at the University of Michigan Health System. Procedures may include the insertion of an umbilical catheter to ease the process of drawing blood. This procedure also aides in monitoring vital signs. Equipment for monitoring the infant's heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and other vital signs may be attached to the baby through wires and adhesive tabs. NICU staff typically will conduct an evaluation to determine whether the baby needs a ventilator or other mechanism to help her breathe.

    Confidentiality and security

    • NICU units are tasked with the responsibility of maintaining patient confidentiality. Federal medical privacy laws and hospital regulations prevent NICU units from providing information about patients to anyone other than the infant's parents or designated legal guardians, according to the Holden Newborn Intensive Care Unit. Because of the compromised health of infants in the NICU, visitation is typically limited to family members, although privileges may be extended to certain people designated by the parents. People who are sick, or who have recently been exposed to certain illnesses such as measles or chicken pox, will not be allowed in the NICU. Most hospitals have security procedures in place to ensure only authorized visitors have access to the NICU.

    NICU team

    • Infants who are admitted to NICU units are cared for by a team of specialists, each of whom have specific duties and responsibilities. According to KidsHealth.com the NICU team may include a charge nurse who is responsible for the NICU during her shift, a primary care nurse that is assigned to a particular patient and a neonatal nurse practitioner. Depending on the type of distress the infant is in, she may also receive care from a neonatologist, a pediatrician, a respiratory therapist, a neurologist, a cardiologist, a nutritionist, laboratory technicians and others. The NICU unit may also provide the services of social workers or a chaplain to the family.

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