Better care and better teaching - New model of postpartum care for early discharge programs

PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED Rapid postpartum discharge has reduced opportunitie s to detect early newborn or parenting problems and to teach neonatal asses sment and maternal postpartum care to medical trainees. OBJECTIVE OF PROGRAM Development of a program to not only ensure adequate c are of mothers and newborns after early hospital discharge, but also to tea ch outpatient assessment skills to family medicine residents. MAIN COMPONENTS OF PROGRAM In an urban, secondary care, university-affiliat ed teaching hospital predominantly training family medicine residents, an i nterdisciplinary committee created and supervised a neonatal and maternal p ostpartum assessment program. Newborn infants and their mothers are seen by a family physician, a family medicine resident, and a nurse within 48 hour s of discharge, after which care is assumed in the community by the child's primary care physician. An assessment protocol developed by the interdisci plinary group promotes standardized mother and child care and a structured learning experience for trainees. CONCLUSION Rapid follow up of early discharged infants and their mothers ca n be facilitated by a program of standardized assessment by a roster of poo led, interacting family physicians and nurses. When this assessment occurs in a teaching milieu, a comprehensive learning experience can be combined w ith defined objectives that emphasize and encourage newborn and maternal as sessment for ambulatory patients.