University Nurses play preemies for a day

(Click HERE for a link the the original article in its entirety.)

U. nurses are preemies for a day

Karen Zanezzi lay on the ground as co-workers kneeled around her, talking loudly as they hurriedly taped a straw in her mouth, taped her arms down, checked her heartbeat and turned her over.

One word came to her mind: "Invasive."

Now the registered nurse and her co-workers at the University of Utah's neonatal intensive care unit know what their defenseless patients experience -- and they pledged to do better.

The group was part of a "Preemie for a Day" training, sponsored by the March of Dimes, to help the U.'s NICU staff continue to improve care of their premature charges. The goal, essentially, is to make the NICU more womb-like to support the preemies' development.

She said the U. has already vastly improved: Lighting is indirect, carpet muffles noise, rooms are smaller and new beds are more cocoon-like.