Teaching neonatologists-in training ("residents") how to have difficult or serious discussion with parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit presents challenges for both the learner and the teacher.  Although neonatologists have shared discussions with parents almost daily, many of us have never truly experienced this discussion from the viewpoint of a parent expecting to have or with a child in the NICU.

This perspective requires partners in communication education who are experienced, invested, caring and motivated- so 4 years ago the NICU Fellowship Training program and  the NICU Family Advisory Care Team came together to develop a consultation training session that connected parents who had been with their babies in the NICU, neonatologists interested in communication, and the  NICU trainees.  Over the last few years, we have been fortunate to work with parents who have graciously volunteered their time, shared experiences and interest in educating future neonatologist.  Using role playing between fellows and families, the trainees can work through difficult scenarios with parents and receive feedback from neonatologists and the families- valuable information and perceptions to reflect on before they may be faced with a similar situation in clinical practice.

When educators and parents work together, we can emphasize the equal importance of what and how medical information is shared.  Over the years the session have evolved with feedback from trainees and NICU parents to ensure that our practice scenarios and seminars cover valuable medical and communication learning points, as well as information on how to give feedback to the trainees. The realism and perspective that the parents bring to these role-playing sessions, combined with the openness of the trainees and interest of the neonatologists, make for a truly rich learning experience for all involved.