Communication within a neonatal intensive therapy unit
Negri, R.
La Pediatria Medica e Chirurgica Medical and Surgical Pediatrics 16(4): 313-316
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0391-5387 PMID: 7816688 Document Number: 435992
The existing literature stresses the discomfort fatigue, and tension in the context of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit nursing work, which often lead to the so-called "burnt-out syndrome". It is not surprising that this might be prevalent in a department that it deals with children who are at the beginning of their lives but under constant threat of death. In order to overcome the above-mentioned difficulty starting from 1982 the Author arranged weekly meeting with the staff of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Treviglio-Caravaggio Hospital (Bergamo). In this article, it is underlined that, in order for the work to develop, the staff needed to go through various mental states, which could be viewed as "typical phases", the most important resulting the "emotional atmosphere". Only after working through these phases the work group will discover his ability to observe the child as an integrated being with biological and emotional components and so will be able to perform his caring function.