“NTMC In-Person might be the best course/certification I have been through. I learned more than my last 4 years in the NICU and how every touch is so much more than touch. I hope I continue to have Kara Ann & Aune’s voices in my head when I go back to the babies in my unit.”
Liz Whitlow, OTR
“NTMC In-Person was a fantastic, comprehensive, and well-designed/organized online course. It was inspiring and invigorating to learn new information and review old information. I wish every nurse and provider in the NICU could have access to this course. These topics would be great as short information sessions for annual nursing reviews via mandatory education provided by hospitals.”
Kristen Groot, PT, NTMTC
“I wish this were a requirement course for all professionals who do hands-on care for NICU patients and their families. It matters so much, and I just wish every single NICU nurse (RT, OT, NNP, and Neonatologist) had this foundational understanding about trauma-informed care, the importance of positive touch and reducing pain, and how greatly that impacts their development.”
Brittany Geisen, RN, NTMNC
“Thank you so much for providing such an informative, well-rounded, and useful educational experience that can be implemented by so many different caregivers and for many different reasons, as well as being supportive and responsive throughout the course.”
Olivia Bivens, SLP
“Initial certification in neonatal touch and massage greatly impacted my neonatal practice. I shifted from task-based care to therapeutic care. I no longer saw myself as just a nurse but as a caregiver. I began seeing my patients as real people and directed my care toward their long-term goals rather than just short-term ones.”
Hannah Bilodeau, BSN, RN, NTMNC
“NTMC has been the absolute best course and certification I have ever invested in. I will carry the passion, observation skills, and ability to listen to what I have learned through these units and use it to improve my care and interactions with my patients and families and spread this healing touch because it is such an incredible gift.”
Lacey Wilson, OTR/L, NTMTC
“I have been an occupational therapist in a level IV NICU for fifteen years. I have taken many continuing education courses on feeding and swallowing and neuromotor and musculoskeletal impairments in infants. I also am a CNT. Neonatal Touch and Massage Certification was the missing key in my practice as a clinician in the NICU.”
Aditi Kulkarni, OTR/L, CNT, NTMTC
“The best NICU-specific course I have taken and thoroughly covered material in a digestive manner without being overwhelming. I will forever change the way I practice and look at preterm babies.”
Alison McFadden, PT
“The passion that the course instructors have for these babies and these topics is so apparent, and it makes me feel so excited and passionate about the knowledge gained and the impact I can make at my hospital and with the patients/parents I work with.”
Brianna Howard, OT
“I will use everything! Transfers, supporting skin-to-skin, massage, TPRs, and most importantly, being a vessel for educating other team members in my unit!”
Melissa Bloomer, SLP, NTMTC
“Thank you for this program! I learned so much and feel inspired and better equipped to care for and advocate for this special neonatal population, their helpers, and families.”
Lydia Fulton, RN, BSN, NTMNC
“NTMC Virtual was really awesome and has already started the “wheels turning” for how we can work to change some culture in our NICU. I’m very excited for part III.”
Beth Powers, PT, NTMTC
“The best part is being able to teach the families something they can do for their baby during a time when they feel helpless. Seeing the light in their eyes when they connect with their baby on a totally different level is such a gift. I am so thankful for this certification and everything that it offers.”
Sara Strickland, OTR/L, NTMTC
“When I teach families the benefits of skin-to-skin care, facilitate skin-to-skin care, or how to provide infant massage, I am giving back a piece of their birth experience that was taken from them. To coach families on infant behavior, cues, handling techniques, massage, positioning, etc., is to watch them find a whole new connection to their little one. It fills my heart every day.”
Margaret Behm, MSN, APRN-CNS, RNC-NIC
“The benefits of neonatal massage are amazing, but hands down, the best part of my training and practice has been equipping families with this amazing tool that is approachable and has strong research-based benefits. Our level IV NICU can be scary for parents and caregivers. Empowering them to participate in care and be able to provide massage gives us one more avenue to support families in truly feeling like part of the care team.”
Elyse Hahn, OTR/L, NTMTC
“Thank you for being so thoughtful about curating this content. I am relatively new to the NICU, having only worked in this setting for one year (I have been an OT for 5 years), and I have learned so much in this course that I wish I had known when I started a year ago. I would recommend this to anyone.”
Rachel Decker, OT
“I strongly feel that all the components covered in our training were beneficial in improving my hands-on treatment, parent education, staff education, and outcomes in our unit. The education provided in the initial certification course and this re-certification course has provided me with knowledge, skills, resources, literature, and confidence to advocate for our neonates and provide the best care possible during my therapy intervention and interactions with staff and families. It has been so beneficial to have research articles at my fingertips to utilize to educate our provider team on the multitude of benefits of massage in our patient population. I have used the information about the importance of skin-to-skin positioning to increase the frequency and comfort of our staff placing intubated infants skin-to-skin with parents in our unit.”
Allison Stanley, MOT, OTR/L, NTMTC
“The kindness and personal experience you shared made this a great experience. You made everyone feel valued, comfortable, and competent. It was a great learning family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
Maribeth Durazo, PT
“It’s truly worth every penny. I feel every single module provided me with wonderful information that I can immediately start implementing in my practice.”
Alyssa Ramirez, PT, NTMTC
“I am excited to use this education to improve my nursing care, specifically neuroprotective care, to help reduce negative developmental outcomes, such as poor growth and development, behavioral and cognitive issues, etc., as well as present-moment positive outcomes like reduced stress, increased mobility, and increased parent satisfaction/bonding.”
“NTMC has been instrumental in enhancing my skills as a neonatal therapist to consider the whole body; as an SLP who has practiced in the area of dysphagia for 15 years, this course and the resources are invaluable.”
Sara Nichols, MS, CCC-SLP, NTMTC