Welcome to the new and improved All Things Neonatal! We have graduated to our own domain name and I think you will appreciate the enhancements on this blog.
June 2020 – My Facebook page has moved! If you were a follower of the old site please click the link to find the new one and contribute to the discussion! Facebook as an accompaniment serves as a better means of expanding dialogue on a variety of topics and posts
I am a Neonatologist trained in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Edmonton, Alberta. My current position is Section Head of Neonatology in Manitoba and over my career my interests have meandered from time to time. I have been a past Program Director of Neonatology and Medical Director for a level II Intensive Care Unit prior to relocating to Winnipeg become a Section Head. My current positions also include Co-Director of the Neonatal Telehealth program and assistant Medical Director for the Child Health Transport Program.
We live in the era of social media and that means that the days of turning to Medline and other medical search engines for all the latest information are behind us.
Starting in January 2020 I have added a Parents Corner section which can be found in the menu at the top of the page. The goal of this new section is to help parents understand in plain language the journey of their baby through the NICU.
We live in a global village so to speak and in that spirit I welcome you to my blog which I hope will provide a forum for discussion on topics that are of interest to Neonatologists, trainees, all health care professionals and in some cases parents of those we care for. My intent is to post opinions and analysis on both items from the media and literature that pertain to neonates. While I have many interests, my particular motivation is to find ways to reduce discomfort for the patients that we care for. Whether it is through the use of non-invasive testing or finding a way to improve the patient experience this is where I find myself most energized.
If you like what you see and would like updates to be sent to you as they are published feel free to follow the site by clicking the follow button on the sidebar to the bottom right. You can also follow both my Twitter (@NICU_Musings) and Facebook feeds for additional content and discussion by clicking the additional links found there.
Medical videos can be found on the accompanying YouTube channel. Subscribing to the channel will give you access to new videos as they come up.
Please “share” and “like” to help expand the circle of knowledge. You never know who might be out there with a tidbit of information that might change your practice for the better!
Can transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation do the impossible and fix the baby who won’t eat?
If you work in NICU you will have seen many babies who have passed through the stages of apnea, weaned off respiratory support and have reached a sufficient weight for discharge but alas will just not feed. Different strategies have been employed to get these infants...
At 22-24 weeks does practice make perfect?
In the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell he talked about 10000 hours being the threshold at which if you practiced or gained that much experience with something you could become an expert. In Sweden the approach to 22 week pregnancies and above is to resuscitate all...
Should CPAP be weaned or is stopping “cold turkey” the way to go?
With American Thanksgiving coming up this weekend a post about "cold turkey" seemed apropos. You can't work in Neonatology and not be familiar with CPAP. We have learned much about this modality in the last couple decades as clinicians have moved more and more towards...
So you tested positive for COVID19. How to tell if you are infectious now that much clearer.
Testing for COVID19 has become so much the norm in society that in casual conversation you might ask someone if they have been tested. Chances are you know someone who has and even more likely that it is many people at this point. If you have been following this blog...
Diaphragmatic excursion and extubation success
Knowing when to extubate an ELBW is never an easy task. Much has been written about extubation checklists including such measures as mean airway pressure minimums and oxygen thresholds as well as trials of pressure support at low rates. The fact remains that no matter...
Another dogma bites the dust? Two vs three hour feeding intervals for VLBW infants.
This could turn into a book one day I suppose but I have become interested in chalenging some of my long held beliefs these days. Recently I had the honour of presenting a webinar on "Dogmas of Neonatology" for the Indian Academy of Pediatrics which examined a few...