Rawsi Williams once said that "To do what nobody else will do, a way that nobody else can do, in spite of all we go through; that is to be a nurse." To be a neonatal nurse is never easy due to dealing with ill babies, long hours, and lack of sleep. Though being a neonatal nurse has its difficulties, it comes with a lot of benefits such as being respected, helping others, and caring for babies. Nurses also must put others before themselves and do everything in their power to get parents' newborns healthy. Being a neonatal nurse is not easy, but at the end of the day one receives the greatest award that makes the work worth it; knowing they saved or cared for a family's child.
According to Webster dictionary, the definition of a neonatal nurse is a nurse that specializes in the care of newborn infants that have health or physical complications ranging from prematurity to surgical problems. When one becomes a neonatal nurse they have the opportunity to work in different areas of care such as newborns ranging from healthy ones that require little treatment to critically ill that may require respiratory support or emergency surgery. There are 3 levels of neonatal nursing; Level II, III, and IV. Level II care involves
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newborns that are critically ill who may need breathing, feeding, and medication assistance. The typically work setting for this level are community hospitals and small healthcare centers. Level III cares for more serious complications, thus requiring more treatment which involve respiratory attention, medical specialists assistance, and diagnostic research. By working in this level of care, Level III nurses work in the NICU inside vast medical buildings and local children's hospitals. Level IV nurses care for newborns that are premature or special medical assistance. The typical work setting of this level of care are in medical NICUs. Due to this level being the most advanced and prestigious in neonatal care, they often receive newborns from different health care facilities due to them needing types of surgeries and life support (Brannagan, RN, BSN, “ How to Become a Neonatal Nurse”). In order to become a neonatal nurse, one must have a 4 year Bachelor degree of Science in Nursing from a four year university or community college.
After receiving the degree, the next step is to be verified in the care of Neonatal Resuscitation and/or Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing. By being in the medical field, one may be required to also have clinical experience in a hospital environment. If one wants to expand their education and become a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, they must also have a Master in Science in Nursing. By attending a neonatal nursing school, they may offer a APNN program, which stands for Advanced Practice Neonatal Nursing, to help one become a Nurse Practitioner or clinical nurse specialist (National Association of Neonatal
Nurses). Taking care of someone else’s baby is a big responsibility, especially if one does not know the parents personally. Due to this high level of power, neonatal nurses must have a variety of critical thinking skills in order to successively and correctly perform their job. They must be able to multitask due to them caring for multiple newborns at a time, able to communicate clearly with their coworkers, and providing health updates to families who may not understand medical terms. Other skills required are making quick decisions, attention to detail, active listening, and remaining calm in a hectic situation. Due to neonatal nurses caring for the most precious forms of life, they often work long nights and unpredictable hours which consists of checking incubators or performing IV medications. A typical day of a neonatal nurse usually starts at 6:30 am when nurses arrive to prepare the areas they are going to use for the day. At around 6:45 they go over the agenda for the day involving patient assignment. After reviewing the schedule, NICU workers begin morning evaluations on patients, physician orders, and prepare patients for medical procedures. By this time, it is past 7 and is typically the busiest time of the day. Between the times of 7:30 and noon, NICU nurses work with a range of activities such as feeding prematures, giving antibiotics, treating a variety of illnesses and birth related conditions. Also within this time period, the NICU receives visits from support services that provide types of therapy, x-ray, and certain equipment to perform surgeries and diagnostics. After having a 30 minute lunch break, the NICU is relatively relaxed around noon and 4 pm, unless an emergency delivery or the changing of a patient’s health status. During this time period, nurses are often giving direct patient care, developing an appropriate sleeping environment for infants, or providing parents information on taking care of their newborns. After 4 pm, Neonatologists begin to end their shifts and write new medication treatment plans, while neonatal nurses are giving their patients interventions unit their shifts are over, monitoring, and providing care for their patients. After the evening comes to close, nurses wrap up their assignments for the day, finish providing patient care, and complete a final documentation. After completing their shift reports, making sure they have successively completed their daily duties, their shift ends at around 6:30 or maybe later depending on how busy the day was (Ward PhD, RN "A Day in the Life."). Though the typical day of a neonatal nurse is stressful, it comes with many benefits such as knowing the the families and their newborns are going to live a happy and healthy life. When one becomes a neonatal nurse, they earn a median wage of $65,050 or median hourly wage of $31.71 according to the The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Horkan "What Is the Average Neonatal Nurse Salary?”). In order to achieve the highest median wage, location plays a big aspect. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, California and the upper East states have the greatest typical median wage. The Bureau also reported that nurses will be in high demand in 2020 across America. Job opportunities will also increase and make nurse practicing more modern, especially in the neonatal field. The career of being a neonatal nurse is interesting to me, because I am fascinated in the medical field and the care of newborns. By becoming a neonatal nurse, I will be able to watch and help a family’s new child become healthy, knowing that I was the reason why they were healthy. Though being a neonatal nurse may have some challenges, it is worth seeing family leave the hospital with a healthy baby.
...lness will be taken care of. Level three neonatal nurse works in the neonatal intensive care unit admits all babies during the first 28 days of life they need more attention that babies from level 1 and 2. The babies in level 3 are mainly premature, sick, or too small for their age. They need high technology care, or surgery. The level 3 NICU may be the largest part of a hospital. They don’t require different training you just have to have a lot of experience. You will have addition duties because you have to be extremely careful and healthy. The babies will need more attention than other babies. It depends if you need it or not some people take it to be on the safe side.
On the contrary, there are various alternate routes that can be taken in order to become a neonatal nurse such as achieving a diploma with a hospital-based school of nursing. However, limited programs accept high school graduates with no experience. Most only accept top train RNs in specialties with degrees (Reece 5). Subsequent to becoming a certifie...
What are the qualifications of a neonatal nurse? It goes without saying that the primary quality needed is a deep sincere desire to care for ba...
Neonatal Nursing has been around since the 1960s. It is a form of nursing that is referred to as the first twenty-eight days of life. Nursing is an important job for everyone because, when you are sick or hurt a nurse can heal your wound or prescribe medicine if they are authorized to. The demand for nurses is expected to grow so anyone that wants to become a nurse will always be able to find a job. The employment rate for nursing as of 2012-2022 is expected to grow nineteen percent which is higher than average.
This certification will strengthen as well as show potential employers an intiative towards personal growth as well as professional achievement. To be specialized in a particular area of this field, one must amass knowledge by going through continuing education programs, formal coursework, self-study, and clinical experience. Then, you must successful pass a certification exam, which will then show their recognition of expertise. There are two programs, The National Association of Practical Nurse Education and Service (or NAPNES) and National Federation of Licensed Practical Nurses (or NFLPN), that offer certification courses in such areas as: infection control, nursing administration long term care, hospice and palliative, managed care, among
Most APNs or NPs posses a master’s degree; however the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) member institutions voted to change the current level of preparation for advanced nursing practice from a masters degree to a doctorate level by 2015”. “An individual who wished to apply for a license must meet the following requirements; a complete application, pass the NCLEX, provide any felony or misdemeanor conviction information, any drug related behavior, functional ability deficit and license fee to Virginia State Board of Nursing”. Most RNs gain their clinical experience by working a staff nurse before entering into a graduate program for their nurse practitioners, but once they gain a significant of experience as a nurse t...
A neonatal nurse must be a registered nurse (RN) with a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree (BSN). You are required to be certified in Neonatal Resuscitation or Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing. You might also be required to complete a minimum number of years of experience in a hospital setting. Nurses wanting to specialize in perinatal nursing must have a post baccalaureate degree. Master's degree programs in either field are available. In order to earn a Master of Science in Nursing in one of these areas you have to have a bachelor's degree in nursing and be a licensed RN at
You take two years of your start up classes with two years of just nursing classes. A lot of hospitals require experience, like an internship for a year. After you go to a four year school and get your BSN there are many fields of specialties you can study ("Requirements to Be a Nurse in the U.S."). Some can include rehabilitation nursing, cardiovascular nursing, and my favorite, pediatric nursing ("Explore Specialties."). Pediatric nursing would be something I would highly consider for many reasons. I have nannied my whole life and am very good with kids. You need to have a lot of patientions with some playfulness when dealing with kids. They get scared and need someone to tell them that everything is going to be ok. What appeals to me the most is that I can watch my patients grow up to become young adults and see how much I have helped them through the years ("Explore
Neonatal nursing is a very challenging field which requires a lot of education before you can become certified. A person’s education has to be backed up by many certifications before even coming close to holding a baby. The expert has the job of supporting loved ones of the infant while they are feeling upset or overwhelmed. Also the expert has the responsibility of showing parents how to properly care for their infant.
There are more than 70% of premature babies that are born between 34 and 36 weeks gestation a year. When a baby is born early, or born with birth defects, the Neonatal Intensive Care unit is its first home. The nurse’s in the NICU have the difficult job of preparing baby’s and parents for a health life together. A baby who has been put into the NICU will stay there until it is healthy enough to go home.
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) are high trained nurses who use their developed training in the use of anesthesia to alleviate patient pain and discomfort due to medical procedures. Nurse anesthetists have been providing anesthesia for more than 125 years, dating back to the early Civil War. ("Nurse anesthetist," 2014). They undergo rigorous training post nursing licensure that allows them to hold a high position in the nursing field working beside surgeons, anesthesiologist, dentists, podiatrist, and many other skilled healthcare professionals ("Nurse anesthetist," 2014). Pain management is one of the main aspects in any procedure, if not the most important to the patient, therefore giving nurse anesthetists a wide spectrum of work settings in the medical field that they can practice in.
I chose Neonatal Nurse Practitioner as a career because I love working with kids and helping others. Ever since I was in fifth grade I loved spending time/ babysitting with my baby cousins. My family always tells me I am compassionate and have a strong love for younger children. Oh the other hand, my sister and a few of my cousins are nurses on the labor and delivery floor, which has influenced me tremendously. I have always been curious to see what it is like to take care of our future generations. On a personal level, nursing appeals to me for many reasons, but some of the primary ones include the fulfillment of my life’s purpose and its family-friendly nature. In order to fully understand the relevance of Neonatal Nursing in today’s society, it is imperative to explore the benefits, background, programs, and
First, a person aspiring to become a nurse should consider the different requirements. According to an article published by, Jacksonville University (2017) in "Thinking of Becoming
The career i chose is a branch of the medical field. I chose a career in nursing, more specifically the career path of a registered nurse. This career consists of providing care for people of all ages and helping them with managing their conditions. I chose this career because my mother is an rn and my family has a strong presence in the medical field. It is important to understand the education or training requirements, skills, or talents needed, salary, benefits offered, and the duties for a particular career when making this decision.
Caring for people is a prerequisite for becoming a nurse. This can often be effortless and second nature but then there are other times where caring for someone is not always the easiest thing to do. You see it in the frustrated mom of the two-year-old who is throwing a temper tantrum in Target. Or the nurse of a patient who presses his call light frequently for seemingly insignificant things. Caring takes patience. With nursing, in particular, you need to feel called to the profession. You need to feel as though nursing is something you desperately have to do. As if you would be disobeying or cheating if you did not become a nurse. This calling can come from many different places or people, but for me, it comes from the Holy Spirit. Throughout my life, I would get so excited going to the doctor’s office or the hospital. I longed to stay and discover parts of the hospital I had not had the pleasure of finding yet. I felt called to