Neonatal resuscitation video review – every high school team watches video of their games, shouldn’t we?

We are looking for an HONS student in 2025 to join our multidisciplinary team that uses video review of neonatal resuscitations to improve preparation and training for these emergencies. In addition to engage in exciting, clinically-based, research, this project affords the opportunity for a student to be fully immersed in the NICU experience by attending the births, joining rounds, and learning sessions. Ten percent of babies born world-wide and over 97% of very preterm babies (less than 32 weeks at birth) will need help breathing at birth. Neonatal resuscitation is a common emergency that is difficult to study because the need for resuscitation is unpredictable, the babies are small, and the monitoring of the babies during the emergencies is difficult. Every baby born must transition from depending on the placenta and mother for oxygen to using their own, liquid filled lungs for the first time at birth. These resuscitations are stressful and quick paced, with multiple decisions and actions taken by a team of neonatal nurses and doctors in a compressed period of time. The consequences of being poorly supported during a neonatal resuscitation can lead to death and significant morbidities. In addition to gaps in knowledge about how to best support the newborn at birth, there are gaps in understanding how the treating team can best be prepared and coordinated during neonatal resuscitation. It is widely understood that clinician’s recall during neonatal resuscitation is inaccurate, making it more difficult to learn valuable lessons for NICU staff who respond to these emergencies. Neonatal Resuscitation Video Review (NRVR) simple tool that offers solutions to these challenges and may improve outcomes for these fragile newborns. Since 2019 at Monash Newborn, neonatal resuscitations have been video recorded and reviewed in formal learning sessions and structured debriefs in an ongoing quality improvement project, the only NRVR program in Australia. In the last several years, our team has been joined by talented HONS students who have done projects using the videos to evaluate components of the Apgar score to predict the intensity of the resuscitation, redefined the normal values of heart rate and oxygen saturation at birth in the era of delayed cord clamping, and explored the benefits of NRVR for ongoing professional development of NICU staff. Despite positive publications video recording and reviewing emergencies in emergency medicine, surgery, obstetrics, and neonatology, there is still reluctance to adopt NRVR as a tool. More work to validate NRVR and improve care during neonatal resuscitation is required. We hope that you are interested in joining our team!