In dedicated journey, premature twins become Certified Neonatal Therapists

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In dedicated journey, premature twins become Certified Neonatal Therapists

In a life that has come full circle, twin sisters born prematurely in the 1970s have now dedicated their lives to helping babies with similar struggles, gaining the hard-earned title of Certified Neonatal Therapists.

Jeni and Juli were born 6 weeks before their due date, each weighing barely over 4 pounds. After their original discharge, both girls were quickly admitted to a small community hospital in Texas due to serious health concerns. Trying to survive in a short-staffed and roughly-monitored environment, their parents slept with a hand on each child to make sure they could still feel them breathing. Terrified to leave their daughters’ bedsides, it became obvious that they needed the advanced care of a specialty hospital.

The two sisters were transported to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Texas Children’s, and their parents’ constant fear was immediately eased. The doctors and nurses demonstrated extreme confidence in their expertise, and Jeni and Juli finally got their chance to fight.

Years down the road, the twins became fascinated with the way a human body functions in a not-so conventional way. It wasn’t because of a TV show, or a superhero healthcare worker they looked up to, but because of their older sister. Their sister was taking an anatomy class her freshman year of college, and was tasked with hand-drawing every muscle in the body. Without “an artistic bone in her body,” she paid her little sisters to knock out the job. The twins were immediately hooked.

Not long after, Jeni and Juli each went on to attend OT school. Juli in Monroe, Louisiana, and Jeni shortly after in Shreveport, Louisiana. They both knew their hearts were with children, and entered pediatric practice shortly after their graduation. While they fell in love with this job, their passion was soon defined when they began visits to the NICU at the end of each day.

In time, life took them in different directions, with Juli continuing her NICU caseload in Arkansas, and Jeni moving back to Texas. With Jeni’s own son coming 6 weeks early, she found herself once again reminded of the importance of the trained professionals in NICUs across the globe. Although these life circumstances and employment changed, and the return to the NICU was not always an easy trek, the twins eventually found themselves back where they began.

With a combined 23 years of work in the NICU, they took on their next greatest accomplishment: becoming Certified Neonatal Therapists.

The Neonatal Therapy Certification was launched in 2016, and Juli was the first OT to become a Certified Neonatal Therapist (CNT) in the entire state of Arkansas. Jeni followed with her certification shortly afterward.

“I have seriously dreamed of the day there would be a neonatal therapy certification,” Jeni says.

“I was nail-biting waiting to hear the news,” Juli says. “I was the first person Jeni FaceTimed, crying and ecstatic, to tell that she passed.”

The two premature babies from Texas had just joined the honored ranks of other CNTs. In such a specialized area of practice, this is not just important, it’s vital. Therapists must have advanced knowledge and training to provide safe, effective therapy interventions to such a vulnerable population. This certification not only feeds that need, but also maintains an up-to-date metric as practices continue to evolve. In the end, it facilitates growth, well-being, and a chance for babies who may not have had one otherwise.

Proud to be CNTs, Jeni and Juli continue to draw inspiration from their own experiences. They, better than anyone, are grateful for the advances in neonatal care that have been made. But they’re not stopping there. Through continued education and the sharing of research, the reach and progression of CNTs worldwide is just beginning.

From birth, these twins have been fighters. Brought into the world fragile and small, Jeni and Juli had no choice but to rely on others from their very first breath. Years later, they have found themselves on the other side of the incubator, faithfully serving children just like themselves.

Jeni is currently a Certified Neonatal Therapist at TC Thompson Children’s Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Juli is a Certified Neonatal Therapist at Willow Creek Women’s Hospital in Johnson, Arkansas.

—-Story by Abby Ludwig

For more information about becoming a Certified Neonatal Therapist, visit

www.neonataltherapycertification.com

For Jeni and Juli’s full length story, click the link.

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Testimonials

See what others have to say about their experience with us!

“I feel like I come to the NICU with a wider breadth of knowledge and appreciation for all the aspects of developmental care.”
Julie Ecclestone
MA, CCC-SLP, CNT
Before the exam:
“The Neonatal Therapy Certification process has made me a more well rounded developmental care specialist. It has forced me to step out of my feeding/dysphagia bubble and I have been able to apply my new knowledge every time I interact with a baby and their caregivers.”

After the exam:
“The test was a challenging yet fair representation of what an advanced NICU therapist should know. I strongly encourage every NICU therapist to pursue certification. You owe it to your patients to be the best therapist you can be!”
Chelsea Moss
MA, CCC-SLP, IBCLC, CNT
“I have spent many days fighting for respect and proving myself to other professionals in the NICU. Earning the title of Certified Neonatal Therapist has helped minimize that fight.”
Casey Manning
M.S. CCC-SLP, CNT, NTMTC
“I was so worried that I would fail the exam (and be embarrassed) that I did not tell my boss I was taking it. Then I took it and found out right away that I aced the exam.It helped me be more confident in myself as a clinician. Reading the literature that was provided was great in helping me prepare and helped me understand what parts of my practice are evidence based.”
Ruth Wilkerson
OTR, CLC, NTMC, CNT
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to become a Certified Neonatal Therapist (CNT) in 2018, through the Neonatal Therapy Certification Board (NTCB).I believe this qualification is very relevant to practice in the United Kingdom (UK) as it helps raise the profile of neonatal therapy and also promotes a core knowledge base and practice. I truly believe that all neonatal therapists should have the same theory and knowledge base when working with this high-risk population, their intervention and level of involvement for each patient may well be slightly different. The certification process requires collaborative working. I am extremely fortunate in my setting to have a speech and language therapist who was prepared to relentlessly ask me questions on neonatal feeding, until she felt I was competent enough to the take the exam. I hope that more neonatal therapists in the UK consider taking this examination, the more people who talk about neonatal therapy, the louder our voices will be. I hope that one day every family and their baby who enter the neonatal unit continue to have access to good medical and nursing care, but also have access to all neonatal therapy; occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. I hope that every therapy discipline has the credentials to highlight their specialty and knowledge and that no family is asked to choose between receiving occupational therapy or physiotherapy or speech and language therapy again. I believe that becoming certified in neonatal therapy is definitely a step in the right direction.”
Emily Hills
OT, MSc, CNT, NTMC
“As a new therapist, I was passionate about achieving certification to demonstrate competence and promote our profession as an advanced area of practice. Following extensive mentorship in the NICU, and after meeting the minimum requirements for certification, I became a certified neonatal therapist! I am thrilled to be a part of a growing profession who now has a successful pathway for developing competency that will continue to establish our profession as an essential component of NICU care.”
Lisa Olsen
OTDR/L, CNT
Heidi Stubb
OT, CNT
“The process of preparing for the neonatal therapy certification exam was as beneficial as taking the examination because of the knowledge gained. The resource list is invaluable and I refer to it almost daily.”
Lauren Adams
PT, PCS, CNT
“As a speech pathologist in the NICU, I was initially hesitant to become a CNT because I thought it would be more geared towards OT/PT studies. What I learned in my journey towards the certification is that everyone who comes in contact with an infant in the NICU benefits from the complex knowledge of neuro development. A different mindset, apart from simply “safe feeding” engulfed my daily practice. My OT coworker (and also CNT) and I began to tag-team ways to incorporate gentle, kind touch into each interaction with the infants. Often our efforts “rubbed off” on other coworkers and parents. My feeding skills have been enhanced by my all-in focus when encountering each baby. It’s not just safe feeding with no aspiration, it’s enjoyable experiences at each feeding time, whether bottle feeding or tube feeding. It’s preventing severe oral aversions in complex cases instead of undoing negative feeding experiences for years to come. I am a better therapist because of my studies to become a CNT.”
Cynthia Armstrong
M.S., CCC-SLP, BCS-S, CNT
Vanessa Nimon
PT, CNT
“I pursued the Certified Neonatal Therapist Certification because working with infants in the NICU is a passion of mine. It has grown exponentially through the years and I felt the time was right to prove to myself, my team, and my management staff that I had the skills and competency to lead in the NICU.”
Cameron Harris
OTR/L, NTMTC, CNT

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