NeoChats - Series 4 Episode 2: Nurse Practitioners Performing Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography in the NICU – Jill Larocque

SERIES 4 | EPISODE 2: Nurse Practitioners Performing Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography in the NICU

GUEST: Jill Larocque, BScN, MES, NNP
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner
Northern Alberta Neonatal Intensive Care Program
Stollery Children's Hospital, Alberta Health Services
Edmonton, Alberta

The use of Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography (TNE) in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit allows care providers to assess and interpret the hemodynamic status of a neonate. Bedside TNE further allows providers to perform real-time assessments and make vital decisions in relation to patient care. Though typically performed by physicians, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Edmonton, Alberta is perhaps the first unit in North America to implement a TNE training program inclusive of neonatal nurse practitioners. Jill Larocque speaks about the Edmonton experience. 

Jill Larocque has worked in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for almost 20 years. She is a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner at the Stollery Children's hospital and a Faculty Clinical Associate with the Faculty of Nursing, Graduate studies.  Her professional time is spent caring for neonates in the NICU, teaching in the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Alberta and completing her training in targeted Neonatal echocardiography.