Merge™ for Providers
Overview
Merge™ is a clinical trial and real-world validated model of family integrated care (FICare). Brief, interactive eLearning modules teach health care providers to integrate families into the neonatal care team.
With Merge™, health care provider roles broaden with a focus on educating and supporting parents as they gain knowledge, skills, and confidence in care of their baby.
For individual neonatal care providers, there are two versions of Merge™ training:
Earn Continuing Nurse Education or Maintenance of Competency (MOC; RCPSC members only) credits with Merge™ training.
Merge™ End-User Training
This course provides information about the Merge™ model of of FICare and the evidence behind it, as well as practical tools and strategies to integrate families into the NICU.
Format: eLearning; 9 modules
Continuing Education Units: 2 hours maximum
Audience: neonatal intensive care providers (nurses, physicians and allied health) and trainees
$85 USD
Merge™ Super-User Training
Format: eLearning; 13 modules
Continuing Education Units: 4 hours maximum
Audience: neonatal intensive care providers (nurses, physicians and allied health) and trainees
$100 USD
Tools and Strategies to Integrate Families in Neonatal Care
- Actionable and adaptable model of FICare with tools & strategies for all health care providers
- Health care providers receive training to enhance trusting relationships with families and negotiate family-provider roles to enhance family satisfaction and experience in the NICU
Evidence Based
- Reduced parental stress
- Increased parenting confidence
- Reduced infant hospital length of stay by 2.55 days
- Avoided costs for the health system
- Benzies, K. M., Aziz, K., Shah, V., Isaranuwatchai, W., Scotland, J. Larocque, J., Mrklas, K. J., Naugler, C., Stelfox, H. T., Chari, R., Soraisham, A., Akierman, A. R., Phillipos, E., Amin, H., Hoch, J., Zanoni, P., Kurilova, J., Lodha, A., and the Alberta Family Integrated Care (FICare) Team. (2020, November 20). Effectiveness of Alberta Family Integrated Care (FICare) in Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) on infant and maternal outcomes: a provincial, pragmatic, cluster randomized controlled trial. BMC Pediatrics, 20:535.
- Benzies, K., Shah, V., Aziz, K., Lodha, A., & Misfeldt, R. (2019). The health care system is making ‘too much noise’ to provide family-centred care in neonatal intensive care units: Perspectives of health care providers and hospital administrators. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 60, 44-53.
- Benzies, K. (2016). Relational communications strategies to support family centered neonatal intensive care. Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing, 30(3), 233-236.
If you are a trainee, please contact us at connect@liminality.ca for pricing