Neonatal Nursing Essay

Today I will inform you about the everyday obligations of neonatal nurses, the explanations of deficiency of staff and the impacts a sufficient number of neonatal nurses can cause in a baby’s life.

Neonatal nurse practitioners work under the physician to provide special care to infants that are seriously ill. A NNP “orders labs, administers medications, diagnoses conditions and preforms invasive surgeries under the supervision of a doctor” (Neonatal Nurse Practitioner | What is a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner?). Many will even take over large loads of patients when hospitals have a shortage of qualified nurses. Neonatal nurse practitioners

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.

Ever since I was about 10, I was extremely interested in becoming a neonatal nurse practitioner. I love babies and love helping others so I figured this particular job could be perfect for me. A neonatal nurse practitioner means you provide care for newborns in need of specialized attention for about the first month of their life. These newborns are usually premature or very sick and the nurse practitioners are usually their primary caregiver. NNP’s are responsible for their patients, exercising judgment when necessary to assess, diagnose, and initiate medical procedures. Many tasks include monitoring specialized equipment, including incubators and ventilators. Providing education and support to patients’ families regarding neonatal, intensive

One upside to being a neonatal nurse is it is less physical demanding. NICU nurses spend a lot of time at the bedside of an infant administering care or closely observing them in an incubator and less time lifting and transporting much larger adult patients. Another upside to being a NICU nurse is that this career has a great job outlook and increases more and more every year,NICU nursing will always have a job available. There is also always opportunities for job advancements with more schooling. And do not forget the babies! Even though NICU nurses are taking care of these infants on difficult conditions it makes the infants that survive and leave happy and healthy even more special . Nurses get to feel the satisfaction every single day that they are helping to save a small little babies life, and that can be one of the greatest feelings in the world. On the downside, working in the NICU is very overwhelming and stressful knowing that a small infant's life is on your hands . Neonatal nursing is also very emotionally stressful. Everyday an infant that you thought was doing bettering and was perfectly stable could suddenly collapse. Theses nurses also have to deal with parents and family members that are also very stressed out and worried about their child and that can become very emotionally draining as

To become a neonatal nurse one has to obtain a registered nursing degree or at least have an undergraduate degree. One must have a completed master’s degree or doctor of nursing practice degree in neonatal nursing. This will take you two to three years after you have your registered nursing degree. Neonatal nurses like registered nurses are required to do clinical training during school. Neonatal nurses also have to do skill labs and intensive training.

A baby was just born at 26 weeks gestation. Just over half the normal 40 weeks a baby should stay inside the mother. The baby is immediately whisked away and taken to be evaluated and prepared for a long journey ahead. Ever since I could remember babies and the nursery at the hospital have fascinated me. Whenever we would go visit a friend who had a baby, I would find myself peaking over the windows into the nursery. I have known for a while that working in the neonatal intensive care unit is what I want to pursue. Recently I have been looking into nurse practitioners and furthering my education beyond my BSN. Being able to care for these infants in the most critical stages of their life, and being able to provide them the support they need to survive outside the womb seems so satisfying . Neonatal nurse practitioners have years of education, deep history, detailed job description, high demands and some legal issues.

All neonatal nurses must be qualified as a registered nurse, earned through an associate’s degree. Some hospitals accept nurse with an associate’s degree while some only accept the ones with a bachelor’s degree. Neonatal nurses are all required to pass the state board of nursing exam, the National Council Licensure Exam. Just to begin the journey in this career, earning an associate’s will take about 2 years. To move higher, quicker continuing an education would be best to be able to earn a bachelor’s in another 2 years. A part-time will do some justice to be able to continue an education and pay it off, as well. It will cost up to as much as $40,000 for tuitions, books, fees and

A labor and delviery nurse has vast knowledge of the process and methods that are required for delivery and bring a new life into the world and is educated with the responsibilities of assiting the new born babies with their medical issues. Considering all the responsibilites needed to take on this career, such as assisting women with complications within the pregnancy, delivering a newborn and managing post birth issuses, the nurse must be professional in his or her work at all times. All people wishing to pursue the career of being a Labor and Delivery Nurse must also have good analytical skills, as part of there job to montior and analyze the mother and child (CollegeAtlas.org).

Premature babies typically have underdeveloped respiratory systems and problems maintaining body heat, so they may be kept on a respirator or in an incubator. Although the neonatal period is the first month after birth, these nurses often care for children up to age 2 who have long-term medical issues. While their primary focus is the health of the babies, neonatal nurses obviously will spend a lot of time with anxious parents who are visiting their children in the NICU and must be able to calmly and clearly explain the babies illnesses and treatment, as well as involve the parents in their

Labor and delivery nurses not only get to assist in delivery, but they get to help care for babies after delivery. After birth, the baby’s umbilical cord must be cut. Typically, the father of the baby will cut the cord, but if the cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck, it can restrict blood flow and must be cut immediately (Winder). The doctor must take charge and free the baby from choking by cutting the cord as quickly as possible. The nurse must remain calm and be ready to quickly check the baby to make sure everything is looking healthy. They must check its heart beat, clean out its nose and mouth, make sure it is breathing normally, make sure it has all ten fingers and toes, and check the weight and length of the baby (What Can I Do Now? Nursing

Neonatal nursing is a specialty of nursing that works with newborn infants born with a variety of problems such as prematurity, birth defects, acid reflux, body malfunctions, and surgical problems. The requirements of becoming a neonatal nurse is having good communication with doctors, specialties, family members, administrators, etc. Some qualities are being fast analytical thinkers to make good choices, well-developed stress management skills, be flexible with different changes, and lastly pay attention to detail documentation. It’s a challenging job to treat patients with problems because you’re dealing with their health and family members. However, it’s a rewarding job because it plays a huge role in saving lives in babies and giving good news to the family.

"Up to 12% of deliveries in developed countries are preterm." This is approximately 500,000 premature births per year. In 2009, my cousin was born ten weeks prematurely, weighing merely two pounds, four ounces. After spending a copious amount of time in and out of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with my family over the course of a month, I developed an interest in its operation. Being a neonatologist became my leading occupation of interest. I chose to further research this topic in hopes of finding out whether or not this is the career path for me. In my research paper, I plan to go into further detail about the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), common medical conditions found in premature infants, how to react and treat these medical conditions, and necessary education to become a neonatologist.

Patient’s in the NICU are considered to be very tiny and fragile and immunocompromised due to their immature organ systems which can lead to many dangerous medical problems. Patricia W. Stone states “maintaining a safe environment reflects a level of compassion and vigilance for patient welfare that is as important as any other aspect of competent health care” (Stone, 2008). The patient’s safety should always be a top concerned for a nurse because in a health care facility the purpose is to heal the patient and get them on the road to recovery. Nurses must learn from the errors of the past and use their knowledge to improve the quality of nursing to the patients to ensure if errors do happen again that the use of evidence-based practices are put into place to improve their outcomes. According to Higher Quality of Care and Patient Safety, “Registered Nurses (RNs) are instrumental in achieving multiple care goals, including promoting infant health and clinical stability, maintaining the integrity and cleanliness of central catheters, and preparing families for their role in infant care and successful transition it home” (Lake, 2016). Nurses are reasonable for the education of the families of the patients to ensure that the best quality of care for the patient is maintained outside the hospital to ensure the best medical outcome for the infants.

Nurses working within the neonatal unit require a particular set of skills to adequately fulfil their roles and responsibilities within this fragile setting. The role of a neonatal nurse is to provide intensive nursing care to an infant who has inherited complications at birth due to varied reasons (Tubs-Colley, Pickler, Younger, & Mark, 2015). These complications often manifest as undeveloped internal organs that make simple bodily functions such as breathing and regulating body temperature incredibly difficult. The neonatal nurse provides close monitoring and extremely individualized care per patient to stabilise and further develop these body systems artificially post-uterine (Drozdowicz & Dillard, 2014).