Communication With the Health Care Team

As parents, you are the most important people in your baby’s life. We want to help you learn how to take care of your baby in the hospital and when you go home.

You notice things about your baby that are very important to all of us. Remember, you ARE a valuable member of the health care team, and we are thankful for the chance to help care for your baby.

Communication between you and other members of the health care team is important so your baby can receive the best care possible. We know that many parents can’t be here during the day, but we still want you to be able to communicate with other members of the health care team.

Ways to Communicate

Here are some ways you can communicate with the health care team.

• Participate in daily bedside rounds. These usually happen in the morning. The health care team will talk about how your baby is doing.

• Call in after rounds to talk about the plan of care with the nurse practitioner.

• Write your questions down. These can include questions about treatment plans or goals or about any medicines. It may be hard to remember them all.

We know that this is a stressful time for you. Sometimes, this makes it hard to understand what the doctor or nurse tells you. It is OK if you need us to repeat things. We may use a lot of medical words or abbreviations, and sometimes we forget that you may not  understand what we are saying. It is important to us that you do understand what we tell you, so you can feel comfortable caring for your baby. If you don’t understand, tell us. Ask lots of questions.Do not be afraid to tell us if you don’t understand. By asking questions, you let us know what you need.

Ways to Learn

You can help us by telling the nurse how you learn best. This helps us give you the best information so you can help your baby. We would like to know if your favorite way of learning is through:

• Reading the information

• Watching a video

• Seeing something done

• Doing something yourself

• Or through some other way

While your baby is in the hospital, we can give you information in many different ways. This includes handouts, videos, and hands-on teaching. By telling us how you learn best, we are able to give you information that best teaches you how to care for your baby.