Introducing S.T.A.B.L.E. Foundations and What’s New: 7th Edition

This blog is taken from a recent HealthStream webinar entitled "Introducing S.T.A.B.L.E. Foundations and What's New in the 7^th Edition." The webinar was moderated by Dan Pawlus, HealthStream's Senior Manager of Digital Events and featured subject matter experts:

• Kris A. Karlsen PhD, APRN, NNP-BC, FAAN, National Program Director, Founder and Author, The S.T.A.B.L.E. Program
• Chris McElvogue, BSN, RN, CHSE, Director of Product Management, HealthStream

During the webinar, Dr. Karlsen and McElvogue introduced the new S.T.A.B.L.E. Foundations module and the changes to the 7^th edition curriculum.

The S.T.A.B.L.E. Vision and Mission

Dr. Karlsen began by sharing the vision and mission of S.T.A.B.L.E. - that every member of the perinatal healthcare team will participate in the S.T.A.B.L.E. education program. She also shared that more than 780,000 students have already completed the S.T.A.B.L.E. course.

The mission of the course is to provide evidence-based, effective education to:

• Reduce infant mortality and morbidity,
• Improve neonatal outcomes, and
• Improve the quality of life for infants and for their families.

What is S.T.A.B.L.E.?

Dr. Karlsen described the program. The mnemonic S.T.A.B.L.E. stands for the six assessment and care modules in the Program: Sugar, Temperature, Airway, Blood Pressure, Lab Work, and Emotional Support. The program targets the first month of life with its strongest emphasis on the first few weeks after birth. S.T.A.B.L.E. is an evidence-based approach to the assessment and evaluation of all infants - both well and sick - as well as the immediate management of sick infants. The curriculum targets the majority of problems that may be encountered and includes a focus on the underlying pathophysiology of neonates.

Who Can Benefit from S.T.A.B.L.E.?

Dr. Karlsen further stressed that the course is useful for all healthcare staff caring for both sick and well infants. The curriculum can help preserve health in well babies, thus avoiding NICU stays, and can help prepare caregivers to recognize the signs and symptoms that might indicate an infant is becoming ill and to also provide a foundation for organizing the initial stabilization care.

Providers who might benefit from S.T.A.B.L.E. include:

• Nurses, Advanced Practice Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses: including those working in Mother-Baby Units, Labor and Delivery Nurses and Midwives, NICU providers, and others
• Neonatal and Maternal Transport Personnel as well as pre-hospital providers such as EMTs, and paramedics
• Allied Healthcare Personnel: including respiratory therapists, healthcare techs, and nursing assistants
• Physicians: including physician assistants, medical students, and family medicine and pediatric residents, and family medicine physicians and pediatricians.

S.T.A.B.L.E. Educational Methodology

There are two methodologies used to teach the program:

• Traditional or Classroom Model: The course is taught over one to two days by expert neonatal nurses, physicians and neonatal respiratory therapists. The class is guided by course slides and includes a learner manual for students. CEUs are awarded by the instructor.
• Online Model: The learner course is self-paced and typically takes between 5.5 and 6 hours to complete. The student's place is bookmarked if they leave the course and PDFs of key concepts from the Learner Manual are interspersed throughout the modules. CEUs, CMEs, and (respiratory therapist continuing education units) are awarded by HealthStream.

It is recommended that the course be renewed every two years for both educational methodologies.

What Is New in the 7^th Edition?

For classroom courses, the 7^th edition will utilize a single slide deck for all learners, replacing the NICU/non-NICU selection required in the 6^th edition. Slides will only be available to registered instructors through the online instructor portal. Instructors will have access to a resource center that contains additional teaching materials that can be incorporated into the classroom presentation. Learners will find that some of the module content has been moved to the new S.T.A.B.L.E. Foundations module to help ensure that the class presentation does not exceed 8 hours allowing for breaks and end of module testing. Students will also enjoy the many new illustrations, videos, and animations.

S.T.A.B.L.E. Foundations

This new module is a pre-requisite to the S.T.A.B.L.E. learner course. Dr. Karlsen shared that it was created to provide foundational maternity and neonatal information for a broad range of students, and will be particularly helpful to new staff who are onboarding to perinatal services. S.T.A.B.L.E. Foundations will help build a solid base of knowledge before staff with limited exposure to perinatal care proceed to the rest of the program.