Parental Experiences of Genetic Testing.

Genetic testing is increasingly used in clinical practice in the neonatal period, including in NICUs. This testing may have psychological consequences for parents. To best support families, neonatal clinicians should be aware of the various ways in which parents view and respond to genetic testing.

Parental Enrollment Decision-Making for a Neonatal Clinical Trial.

Objective: To describe the parental experience of recruitment and assess differences between parents who participated and those who declined to enroll in a neonatal clinical trial.

Study Design: This was a survey conducted at 12 US neonatal intensive care units of parents of infants who enrolled in the High-dose Erythropoietin for Asphyxia and encephaLopathy (HEAL) trial or who were eligible but declined enrollment. Questions assessed 6 factors of the parental experience of recruitment: (1) interactions with research staff; (2) the consent experience; (3) perceptions of the study; (4) decisional conflict; (5) reasons for/against participation; and (6) timing of making the enrollment decision.

What Should an Intern Do When She Disagrees With the Attending?

Disagreements, including those between residents and attending physicians, are common in medicine. In this Ethics Rounds article, we present a case in which an intern and attending disagree about discharging the patient; the attending recommends that the patient be hospitalized longer without providing evidence to support his recommendation. Commentators address different aspects of the case.

Parental Factors Associated With the Decision to Participate in a Neonatal Clinical Trial.

Importance: It remains poorly understood how parents decide whether to enroll a child in a neonatal clinical trial. This is particularly true for parents from racial or ethnic minority populations. Understanding factors associated with enrollment decisions may improve recruitment processes for families, increase enrollment rates, and decrease disparities in research participation.

Facilitators of and barriers to successful teamwork during resuscitations in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Objective: Effective teamwork is essential in high-risk healthcare delivery environments. In this study, we aimed to identify facilitators of and barriers to successful teamwork during resuscitations in the NICU Study Design: 36 in-situ interprofessional simulation sessions were held in a level 4 NICU. Each session was followed by a debriefing where staff talked about the simulation scenario but also about their prior experiences during resuscitations in the NICU.

Ethics education in neonatal-perinatal medicine in the United States.

Neonatology is one of the specialties that has immensely benefited from advances in medical technology in the last few decades. These advances have paralleled the rise of the civil rights movements and wider recognition of individual rights. As a result, ethical decision-making has become more complex, involving patients, parents, members of the health care team, and society in general.