Staffing issues in neonatology, impacting patient safety and physician well-being, have prompted a group of experts to develop recommendations for best practices in neonatologist staffing. These findings were published in Pediatrics.
The core team initially proposed a resolution at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Leadership Conference to promote sustainable staffing models for pediatric physicians. This proposal was voted into the top 10 priority areas for advocacy by the academy. The resolution calls for ongoing research, education, and advocacy to develop innovative staffing models that are flexible and transparent to attract future professionals. Following this, the team received support from the AAP Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Strategic Grant.
“Neonatology is a very rewarding field of work, in part due to its diverse range of work environments, yet significant concerns regarding workforce sustainability exist,” said Dr. Milenka Cuevas Guaman, principal investigator and associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine.
From literature reviews and previous studies involving physician leaders, they identified 60 potential recommendations for improved staffing. They defined consensus as over 80% agreement among stakeholders. Ultimately, 51 statements reached consensus and were condensed into 24 final recommendations aimed at improving neonatology staffing.
“Other organizations within and outside of medicine have recognized potential safety risks of prolonged shifts and adapted their work models accordingly. Reforming neonatology staffing may pose additional challenges but is overdue and necessary, with the goal of optimizing the health of our patients and the workforce,” Cuevas Guaman added.
A toolkit containing these recommendations will be published later this year to assist local implementation efforts in creating new standards for staffing practices.
“We really want to change how staffing is done. The toolkit will help with local implementation to assess and create goals and eventually reach a new and hopefully improved gold standard,” stated Cuevas Guaman.
Contributors include Christine E. Bishop, Emily R. Miller, Christiane E.L. Dammann, Kaashif A. Ahmad, Eric Horowitz, Mark Hudak, Satyan Lakshminrusimha, Patrick J. McNamara, Mark R. Mercurio, Marielle Nguyen, De-Ann M. Pillers, Robin H. Steinhorn, Annemarie Stroustrup, and Kerri Z. Machut.
The study was supported by an AAP Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Strategic Grant; however, the section did not influence the study's design or conduct.
