Institute for Continuing Education

Neonatal and Pediatric Pulmonary Care

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Describe the stages of fetal lung development, its functions in utero, and the changes that occur at birth.
• Discuss the development and unique features of fetal circulation.
• Define surfactant and explain its significance in neonatal care.
• Describe the stages of labor and delivery, the complications that can occur, and the preventive steps that can be taken.
• Explain how to diagnose and treat the most common respiratory diseases that affect infants and children.
• Explain and identify the uses of the common infant scoring systems.
• Discuss the characteristics of a high-risk pregnancy and a high-risk infant.
• Identify the clinical signs and appropriate treatments for common neonatal cardiac and pulmonary diseases.
• Explain the techniques for resuscitation of infants and children.

Course Information

To say that, "Pediatric patients are not just little adults," may seem trite, but it is absolutely necessary for RCPs and other healthcare practitioners to remember this seemingly obvious truth. This phrase has been repeated numerous times to introduce discussions of the special care needs of this unique group of patients, and indeed it is true. Because of their size and stage of development, the health needs of neonates and other infants are different from those of adults.

Healthcare goals in neonatal care are often primarily designed to provide the opportunity for survival until their body systems can more fully develop, enabling their natural defenses to mature. In the past few decades, pediatric/neonatal care has developed into an important healthcare specialty, complete with highly specialized critical and intensive care equipment, protocols, and facilities.