What is Maternal Fetal Medicine? Also known as perinatology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine is an evolving field in medicine. This field refers to the specialized care of pregnant women and their unborn babies. There are several needs and uses for Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) doctors. Some uses include having a consultation from MFM doctors because they are at “high risk” and are considering getting pregnant or are already pregnant and have high risk for complications. As noted earlier, the field of maternal-fetal medicine is one of the most rapidly evolving fields in medicine especially when it concerns the fetus. Research is being done in the field of fetal gene and stem cell therapy in hopes of providing early treatment for genetic disorders (Abi-Nader et.al, 2009). Research is also been done for open fetal surgery for the correction of birth defects like congenital heart disease, and the prevention of pre-eclampsia. A lot of pregnancies have led to maternal mortality and maternal morbidity. This area of concern is often situated with MFM subspecialists, in order to reduce the rate of maternal mortality and maternal morbidity (Haywood, B., 2012). The Society for Maternal-fetal Medicine also strives to improve maternal and child birth outcomes by standards of prevention, diagnosis and treatment through research, education and training. (Schubert, K. & Cavarocchi, N., 2012) In order for MFM subspecialists to help reduce the rate of maternal deaths, they must receive adequate training and education, including research, which is very essential for treatment. The main focus of the MFM subspecialist is early diagnosis of fetal abnormalities, pathogenesis, and early diagnosis and treatment of pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction. In ... ... middle of paper ... ...ransformation. However, the power to improve the current regulatory, business, and organizational conditions does not rest solely with nurses; government, businesses, health care organizations, professional associations, and the insurance industry all must play a role. Working together, these many diverse parties can help ensure that the health care system provides seamless, affordable, quality care that is accessible to all and leads to improved health outcomes. Also, the Nurse leader provides the link between management and the frontline staff who personally interact with the public and patients. They are the interface between management and care delivery, and can only be effective if they have the support, time, authority, and respect necessary to competently and visibly lead their teams on the delivery of high-quality care. (Dawes, M., Davies, P., T., 2006).
Nursing leaders ' responsibility extends to become a voice for the nurses and for offering quality in patient care, not just at their organizations but spanning the whole communities, interacting with law makers in revising regulations and laws, with researchers and educators. Nurse leaders, in particular those at manager and supervisory levels are spread sparsely. They are involved in business planning, human resources, information management and writing reports. It is advisable for them to refocus the leadership on care which matters to patients which is the essence of
Whitehead, D. K., Weiss, S. A., & Tappen, R. M. (2010). Essentials of nursing leadership and
In healthcare it is very important to have strong leaders, especially in the nursing profession. A nurse leader typically uses several styles of leadership depending on the situation presented; this is known as situational leadership. It is important that the professional nurse choose the right style of leadership for any given situation to ensure their employees are performing at their highest potential. Depending on which leadership style a nurse leader uses, it can affect staff retention and the morale of the employees as well as nurse job satisfaction (Azaare & Gross, 2011.) “Nursing leaders have the responsibility to create and maintain a work environment which not only promotes positive patient outcomes but also positively influences teams and individual nurses” (Malloy & Penprase, 2010.) Let’s explore two different leadership styles and discuss how they can enhance or diminish the nursing process.
Leadership in healthcare today requires communication skills, changing in healthcare delivery with limited or changing resources, strong human resource abilities, and professional engagement among nurses and management teams. The following is the Part II of a leadership case study exploring the leadership perspective for several issues.
Medical experts are trying to find out possible reasons behind miscarriages and stillbirth and why they are so frequently. The causes of still born and miscarriages are somewhat diffe...
Medicine affects every aspect of our lives. From the moment of conception we begin to use medicine to better understand what is going on in our bodies and what needs to be done. Abortion has been a hot button issue from every aspect of modern society. The question of when life begins, or whether or not it is right to terminate a pregnancy for reasons of quality are some of the dilemmas we must face when dealing with such an issue. With the advent of modern techniques to determine viability and quality of the human embryo, we can now decide whether or not it is a good idea to keep your pregnancy or abort it. One of the most basic techniques used is amniocentesis where a sterile needle is inserted through abdominal wall into the amniotic sac, then a small amount of fluid is drawn and DNA is isolated. Once the fetal DNA is isolated it can be tested for a wide range of genetic abnormalities, such as maternal-fetal incompatibilities as well as other more ethically controversial factors, like the child's sex.
Not that long ago, women did not have the pleasure of hearing their baby’s heart beat, find out if they were having a boy or girl, or having early knowledge of possible congenital anomalies. With routine prenatal care today, women are provided with more information about how to care for themselves and their baby early in pregnancy. Routine ultrasounds are performed early in pregnancy to ensure that the baby has implanted into the uterus. A hand-held Doppler unit is used to hear fetal heart tones during prenatal visits. Ultrasound is used again at about twenty weeks gestation to ensure that fetal development is progressing as expected. Many women have adapted to this technology and expect this standard of care. The hand held Doppler unit can also be used intermit...
Leadership is many things, offering this opportunity to nurses certainly provides numerous opportunities for growth. Nurses lead the way so that they can incorporate a groups consensus because the nursing staff is one of the largest staff populations in the organization. Also, the nurses are positioned to form connections across department lines. Nurses are positioned to forge connections that are both formal and informal. Since the nurses are both in administrative management positions and on the front lines, nurse leadership compliments our organization. A shared leadership model.
Nurses, no doubt have made tremendous contributions to healthcare and patient outcome. Nurses as a leader attained educations, pieces of training, and mentor other nurses that are new by giving emotional support, orientation, and ensure adaptation to the nursing culture. Ashton (2012) described nurses leaders as critical thinkers that value integrity, appreciate the power of the team (collaborations) and navigate stumbling blocks in the work setting to improve patient goals and professional growth (p. 114). Nurse leaders are competent in influencing policies to promote practice and health outcome and stand accountable for their actions and their delegates. Ashton further implied that nurses’ leaders having a voice is an opportunity that must
YuanLuole, Shiming Lu , Zhou Jiang , Guang Yong , “ The Journal of Maternal Fetal and Neonatal Medicine July ( 2011);24 (7): 960-965
Technology has come a long ways in fetal cardiac surgery. Surgeons and physicians have been working side by side with engineers to make great strides in detecting cardiac abnormalities, performing in-utero surgery, and surgery after birth. It has given babies a fighting chance at living a normal life. Advancing technology has made it easier to identify abnormalities early on while the heart is still in the process of developing. This now gives the surgeons the option to put new instruments, such as a catheter, at work in making minor adjustments. Yet, in-utero fetal cardio surgery is still not completely dependable because it is a complicated process that is still relatively new to health care.
Although debates generally center around the political side of abortion rights, it seems that Americans overlook the small, yet significant percentage of women who meet their demise during childbirth. Statistics show that only 9.1 out of 100,000 actually suffer from labor-induced afflictions, most being younger mothers aged 15-18. In fact, the lack of safe abortion methods has resulted in childbirth being the primary cause of death among teenagers throughout the world. It is estimated that 50,000 young women die from childbirth per year by reason of underdeveloped bodies. Common complications are “...postpartum bleeding (15%), hypertensive disorders (10%)...” and “preexisting conditions (28%).”, The hypertensive disorder occurs in the form
Perinatal mortality refers to the no of deaths in the first week of life and no of fetal deaths (stillbirths). Causes and determinants of neonatal deaths and stillbirths differ from those causing and contributing to post neonatal and child deaths. Neonatal deaths and stillbirths stem from poor maternal health, inadequate care during pregnancy, inappropriate management of complications during pregnancy and delivery, poor hygiene during delivery and the first critical hours after birth, and lack of newborn care. Several factors such as women’s status in society, their nutritional status at the time of conception, early childbearing, too many closely spaced pregnancies and harmful practices, such as inadequate cord care, letting the baby stay wet and cold, discarding colostrum and feeding other food, are deeply rooted in the
In today’s society, leadership is a common yet useful trait used in every aspect of life and how we use this trait depends on our role. What defines leadership is when someone has the capability to lead an organization or a group of people. There are many examples that display a great sense of leadership such being an educator in health, a parent to their child, or even a nurse. In the medical field, leadership is highly used among nurses, doctors, nurse managers, director of nursing, and even the vice president of patient care services. Among the many positions in the nursing field, one who is a nurse manager shows great leadership. The reason why nurse manager plays an important role in patient care is because it is known to be the most difficult position. As a nurse manager, one must deal with many patient care issues, relationships with medical staff, staff concerns, supplies, as well as maintaining work-life balance. Also, a nurse manager represents leadership by being accountable for the many responsibilities he or she holds. Furthermore, this position is a collaborative yet vital role because they provide the connection between nursing staff and higher level superiors, as well as giving direction and organization to accomplish tasks and goals. In addition, nurse managers provide nurse-patient ratios and the amount of workload nursing staff has. It is their responsibility to make sure that nursing staff is productive and well balanced between their work and personal lives.
Ghana is progressively aiming to be a modern state, and therefore the power of modernity shapes ideas and practices relating to reproductive health policy and planning. For instance, Ghana’s Reproductive Health Strategic Plan (2007-2011) emphasizes the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity through the modernization of obstetric care. Like Harrison (2011), I would concede that the optimal intervention to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes might be to encourage all women to seek care from skilled health personnel. For instance access to skilled ANC at government health facilities can facilitate the detection and treatment of problems during pregnancy and provides an opportunity for health workers to inform women about their health and the danger signs associated with a pregnancy. It is during an antenatal care visit that screening for complications and advice on a range of maternity-related issues take place, including counseling about healthy lifestyles. Studies have even suggested that early and regular contact with a formal healthcare system during pregnancy may also contribute to timely and effective use of services during and after delivery or in the event of an obstetric complication (Guliani et al, 2012, Yesuf et al, 2013). Similarly, it has been observed that a considerable number of problems that lead to maternal and newborn deaths occur during the postpartum period (Titaley et al, 2010). In particular, the first 48 hours following delivery are critical for detecting and monitoring potential complications that if unattended, could result in the death of mothers and newborns. Therefore access to and use of post-delivery care services in government health facilities where skilled birth attendants are likely to be