The Ashington Experiment 9/12/2020

This week I read an article about The Ashington Experiment. This experiment was used to test the knowledge of a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP), in that the neonatal service (especially in the newborn intensive care unit or NICU) was run entirely by NNPs, not a resident doctor. It made me realize how knowledgeable NNPs are, since they were able to successfully run the neonatal services at this hospital. My understanding of the role of a NP has changed because now I understand more in depth of how much they have to accomplish on a daily basis. Even the newly graduated NNPs were able to succeed in this experiment, which just shows you that working hard does pay off. NNPs need so much experience and this allows them to reach that. The help of others also has a great impact on how successful one can be. Working in the NICU means you have to heavily rely on others and work as a team, but this allowed NNPs to be more individual and have more control; Instead of having to constantly ask the surgeons or resident doctors, they had more responsibilities. This made me so excited because they’re changing the medical field and improving every single day. After I read this article, I began to process how this is a job that will constantly be changing. I want to be a part of this in the future and make improvements along the way. There will always be a need for NNPs and medicine. Medicine is always evolving, changing, and adapting to what is happening in the world. I still have a lot of information that I need to continue to research such as dealing with losses, talking to parents and helping them feel less stressed, etc. Now I feel more confident in the daily tasks that an NNP does, but next week I will continue to gain more knowledge over their procedures, schedules, and more!!