NEONATAL RESUSCITATION PROGRAMME

The Neonatal Resuscitation Programme (NRP TM ) is part of the professional education programmes by the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) and the American Heart Association (AHA). It was designed to support about 10% of newborns that requires some form of assistance transitioning from intrauterine to extrauterine life.

The 6th  edition NRP TM  materials are based on the 2010 AHA Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care.

In Malaysia, the NRP is made compulsory to all house officers before they attain their full registration as a certified licensed medical practitioner. Hence, it is imperative that we aim to introduce this programme to medical students before they embark on their medical career as a house officer.

The Paediatrics Department of Clinical School, International Medical University (IMU), Malaysia has modified the course outline to adapt to undergraduates based on evidence of teaching and learning to improve the education of medical students in anticipation of residency training.

This has been in line with the school’s Learning Model which is grounded on its core values which foster students’ development into knowledgeable and competent professionals who are critical thinkers, reflective and yet proactive. This aim is to create graduates who are committed to lifelong learning and imbued with them a sense of good leadership and ethical behaviour.

By the end of this NRP, students should be able to:

• Assess a newborn for respiratory distress
• Perform effective airway management
• Demonstrate as a team the steps of neonatal resuscitation and its use of appropriate emergency medications
• Differentiate special circumstances that require a different approach of resuscitation