Providing comfort, education and reassurance to concerned parents and family members. Performing CPR and basic life support should it become necessary. How much can you make as a neonatal nurse? What is the current job market for neonatal nurses?
A Bachelor of Science in Nursing BSN degree that can be earned in 3 years or less, based on transfer credit and applicable prior learning experience you may already have.
Available both online and on-campus. According to NANN , you may choose to focus your attention on becoming a: Neonatal staff nurse who provides technical care for acutely ill infants or supportive care for convalescent or mildly ill newborns. Neonatal nurse manager who provides leadership for the staffing and administration of the NICU. Neonatal clinical nurse specialist who provides up-to-date education and support to both nursing and ancillary staff who are learning clinical skills. Neonatal developmental care specialist who provides direct care and assists colleagues in meeting the developmental needs of sick and preterm infants.
Neonatal nurse practitioner NNP who works with physicians and nursing staff to provide comprehensive critical care to the infants in the NICU. Take and pass a national neonatal certification exam After gaining experience in the NICU, most neonatal nurses choose to take one or more certification exams to validate their knowledge and advance their careers.
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Scholarships Nursing Programs Campus Locations. Ready to get started? Practical education will teach you skills about providing oxygen therapy, starting an IV, giving injections, taking vital signs and chest tube care.
Clinical rotations will expose you to various nursing specialties like intensive care, obstetrics, general medicine, surgery and pediatrics. It can be difficult to break into neonatal nursing.
Gaining practical experience in pediatric nursing in advance of graduating from nursing school can give you a head start. Some clinics or hospitals offer externships for nursing students to help them develop an interest in specialized or advanced-care nursing. Seeking an externship, shadowing a neonatal nurse or volunteering in a pediatric clinic will help you network with other professionals and gain valuable insight.
You will be licensed as a registered nurse after successful completion of the National Council Licensure Examination for registered nurses. Expect to spend one to two months studying for the exam. If you want to become a neonatal nurse, apply for a nursing residency at a medical facility that provides neonatal classes in this specialty. You will have to have a BSN to be eligible for a neonatal nursing residency. You may be able to secure a position in a clinical or hospital setting to provide relevant experience.
Once you have substantial work experience in nursing, you can pursue advanced certification. There are a variety of certifications available to nurses who are interested in working in neonatal nursing. You may also take the exam if you have been an RN for five years with a minimum of 2, hours of experience in neonatal nursing.
You can become a registered nurse certified in neonatal intensive care by taking a test offered by the National Certification Corporation.
Eligibility for this exam includes proof of 2, hours as a registered nurse along with specialty experience in neonatal nursing. You may be able to take these certification classes at your local hospital or online. Each certification specialty has varying requirements. You can expect to spend between 10 and hours every three years to maintain your certification. Online schools offer the same high-quality education as brick-and-mortar institutions, but should be held to the same standards as their traditional counterparts.
The following points are very important when seeking out any neonatal nursing program, but especially when choosing from online opportunities. When learning something new, it pays to learn from the best. It is vitally important to ensure nursing faculty members are highly trained in specific neonatal issues and have extensive experience in the NICU. Look for faculty with past or current experience helping neonates, those who have penned in-depth research papers on neonatal issues, and those who are well known in the field for their contributions to the advancement of neonatal research or practice.
These highly trained individuals not only provide a fantastic learning experience, they can also be great assets for networking upon graduation. A nurse must be licensed in order to practice, and many schools offer great courses that prepare students for questions they will likely encounter on the NCLEX-RN examination. Courses should provide in-depth preparation for the licensure test and highlight any additional state-specific requirements.
Students should seek out schools that incorporate NCLEX-RN prep into the curriculum or offer supplemental courses that review necessary points of taking this particular examination. When a student attends a nursing program, they should graduate with the knowledge and skills necessary to pass the licensing examination and become a registered nurse. Not all schools are created equal, and some may have much higher examination passage rates than others.
Information about the passage rates of a particular school can be found either on their website or by calling the admissions office. The higher the passage rate, the more likely it is that the program has suitably prepared its students. Most nursing programs provide a variety of electives within the nursing field, allowing students to concentrate their knowledge in a particular area.
Potential students should review the course catalog to ensure the portfolio of electives available include neonatal topics. Students should strive to find the school best matched to their goals, and that includes a strong emphasis on neonatal courses. Neonatal nurses should have excellent time management, as they might be working with more than one infant at a time.
They should be able to communicate clearly with their colleagues, and be able to provide health updates to parents and family members who may not understand medical terminology. Other top skills include attention to detail, sound judgment and decision-making capabilities, critical thinking, and the ability to teach parents how to best care for newborns facing medical issues. Professionals looking to enhance their knowledge and skill sets have numerous credential programs available to them, including those offered by the National Certification Corporation.
A few of the top neonatal certifications are listed below:. In order to gain certification, applicants must pass an examination and complete a set number of continuing education credits. Neonatal nurses are expected to be agile users of common tools needed in the NICU, including tiny versions of typical instruments.
They should also be proficient in the specific technologies used in the field. A list of the most common tools and technologies is given below:. She also has extensive experience in the NICU unit.
We asked her to share her story of becoming a neonatal nurse, and what the profession has taught her. During my student OB rotation, my clinical instructor was very passionate about that area of nursing and her passion was contagious. I was interested in critical care, pediatrics, and obstetrics, and the NICU was a way to combine all those interests.
She was definitely before her time in realizing the trend of further education in the nursing profession. I worked as a registered nurse for about seven years six in the NICU , before attending Georgetown University Medical Center for my neonatal nurse practitioner certification. I definitely enjoyed my science classes, particularly anatomy and physiology, and understanding the way the body is created and functions, and what goes wrong with diseases.
The clinical courses in nursing are the real highlight, and also being able to focus on a particular area such as medical surgical nursing, intensive care, psychiatric , and pediatrics. As BSN nurses, we are taught to see the big picture, care for patients holistically, and think critically. The day-to-day work depends on the level of NICU the nurse is stations. Level One is well baby, while those in Level Four require life sustaining measures, long term care, surgery, and advanced technology.
The more premature a baby is or the more critically ill, the higher level of advanced care will be required. Most people think about neonatal nursing from the perspective of critically ill neonates. The working day begins with reports from nurses on the previous shift. Report includes the history, current condition, changes, needs, and family involvement, as an example. The nurse then assesses the neonate, including hands on care, listening to heart and lungs, and performs a complete physical assessment.
This establishes a baseline to know the neonates condition and identify any problems, new or ongoing. As the shift continues, the nurse performs procedures such as starting an IV, giving medications, drawing blood samples, adjusting oxygen levels, and feeding the baby. Any changes or needs are reported to the doctor or nurse practitioner, and everyone works together as a team. Parents come and go and the nurse is key in educating them, communicating with them, and always facilitating their role as the parent.
It also means preparing them for taking the baby home while being realistic about the baby's condition. In addition to caring for the babies assigned to them, the nurse may assume other responsibilities, such as attending deliveries to care for a newborn immediately after birth in the case of potential problems.
Some nurses also function as transport nurses, traveling to other hospitals to stabilize and transport a sick baby back to their hospital's NICU for more advanced care.
The shift ends the way it began, by documenting changes in the medical record, and giving report to the next nurse assigned to the baby. I would encourage all future nurses to get their bachelors degree, at a minimum.
As students go through nursing school, they often wonder why they have to learn so many different things when they only want to be a neonatal nurse. Any degree leading to the registered nurse license is considered a generalist degree, meaning students receive a well-rounded knowledge base of multiple issues across the entire life span.
They are prepared to assume a role focused on health promotion or acute care for critically ill and everything in between. Nurses wanting to specialize in any specific setting, such as neonatal care, will want to seek out any additional opportunities in that specialty while in school. These may include volunteering, applying for a summer externship after the clinical rotations have started, or requesting assignment in the specialty area during the final clinical before graduation.
New nurses starting in a NICU will receive an extensive orientation with ongoing, on-the-job education and training. Those who plan to work as a neonatal nurse can expect robust job growth in the coming years. The BLS reports employment growth of 19 percent for registered nurses and 31 percent for advanced practice nurses from to
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