Excellence in Practice: The Professional Journey of Judi Smerilson, Certified Neonatal Therapist®

The Path to Neonatal Therapy Certification

Judi began her NICU training as a Physical Therapist at Arnold Palmer Hospital. Soon after, Judi went to work at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital to continue her NICU journey. Judi also has an established clinical foundation in CVICU and general acute care, working in many facilities across the United States. Currently, Judi is employed in a 32 bed Level III NICU in Dallas, Texas at UT Southwestern. What pushed Judi to start the Certified Neonatal Therapist® application process were inspirational words of Holly Schifsky following the “Baby Beats and Breaths,” course. Obtaining certification wasn’t just a personal success but a professional milestone that brought her practice and accountability to a new level. 

Commitment to Excellence 

The Certified Neonatal Therapist® is not just a title for Judi. She views having this credential symbolically as a testimony to her patients and her profession. Because of the CNT™ credential, she continues to be a consumer of the latest evidence with the help of the NTCB’s monthly reference list. Judi’s hunger to read and learn is a testament of the level of care with which she practices. 

Professional Recognition and Impact 

The organization that Judi joined did not include the Neonatal Therapy Certification on the approved list of certifications that made a therapist eligible for an annual bonus. Upon discussion with her manager, Judi filled out the paperwork and submitted it for approval by the hospital. Based on the information provided to hospital management, the organization then approved the Neonatal Therapy Certification on the annual bonuses list.  This effort further indicated the importance of this certification at an institutional level.  Judi now receives an annual bonus for maintaining her CNT™ credential! 

Conclusion 

Judi’s story illustrates what can be achieved with passion, persistence, and pursuit of excellence in patient care.  Through advocacy, her efforts paved the way for other therapists to receive financial recognition for achieving certification at her hospital. The NTCB looks forward to a future in which the Certified Neonatal Therapist® is recognized and supported in all hospitals.

                                       

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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
“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
Heidi Stubb
OT, 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
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 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
“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
Vanessa Nimon
PT, 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
“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

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