If you have had a baby in the John Hunter Hospital who is unwell, you may start in the NICU. Specialist doctors called Neonatologists lead the teams of people who will look after your child in NICU.

the first person you are likely to meet will be the nurse who will be looking after your child. They may look after only your child or a small number of children depending on how much care your child needs. They will be dressed in Navy Blue or colourful scrubs.

or resident. you will very likely meet the registrar or resident early on. they are junior doctors who are working toward becoming specialists. They will ask you questions about your baby and gather information for the Neonatologist. They will take notes on how your baby is doing throughout your NICU stay.

or clinical nursing specialists (CNS). some NICUs have Nurse Practitioners. These are highly trained and qualified neonatal nurses who fulfil similar roles to registrars.

a Fellow is a senior doctor, usually in their last year of specialist training.

The NICU is led by Neonatologists. They specialise in treating premature and very unwell babies. They will assess your baby, ask you to give as much detailed information as you can about their illness, order blood tests or other tests and prescribe medications. They may call in other specialist doctors to assess different aspects of your child, to determine the most appropriate care. Most of these tests, or investigations, will then be ordered and managed by the junior doctors and nurses. If you have questions about your child’s condition or medicines, ask the nurse practitioners or the doctors. If they cannot answer your question, they will ask the Neonatologist or you may catch them on one of their ward rounds.