Career Summary
A neonatal nurse focuses on providing care newborn infants and families when the newborn’s health conditions requires more support than traditional postnatal wards. Neonatal nurses work with newborns with variety of problems such as congenital defect, prematurity, surgical problems, and other body malformations. The Neonatal period is described as the first month of life, but for these newborns, they are usually sick for months. The field covers those newborns showing problems after the birth, infants who have illness after birth, and those with chronic health conditions because of the premature birth.
At the time that we are in, neonatal care has been proven beneficial for the million babies with special care needs. Approximately
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Irrespective of the level of care, nurses have with work with the baby’s parents as well. The neonatal nurse assists the new parents with the with the bathing, feeding, and providing care while the newborn is in the hospital. They usually act as a bridge between the specialist and the parents when working with …show more content…
You need to complete both the undergraduate and graduate nursing degree program. An associate degree in nursing will prepare students for a nursing career with course focusing on pharmacology, anatomy, communication, caring of the infant or patient, and the nursing principles can be obtained in 2-3 years at a junior or community college. A Bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) curricula often lean toward assisting working nursing to a successful completion of the program. The coursework subject, such as critical care, nutrition, physiology, health assessment, and microbiology. Nurses that are going into neonatal need to take a certification exam by obtaining two years or up to 2,000 hours of clinical experience working as a neonatal nurse. The process can be lengthy for the application, so be well prepared when submitting the requirements. If you have a degree in another field, may be eligible for accelerated program where you can obtain a bachelor of science in nursing(BSN) or master of science in nursing (MSN) in 1-2
My anticipated careee field after college is to work as a neonatal nurse practitioner. My plan is to go to Coloumbus state university and acquire my nursing degree. To eran a residereed nurse degree you must complete a 4 year degree. Due to taking dual enrollement classes in high school I should finish in less than 3. The I will transfer to Emory University or Berry College to get my nurse practitioner degree in approximately 2-4 years. Becoming a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner a person must have RN licensures and state authority for advanced practice. They must also have 2-4 years of experience in he feild or related area. The applicant must be familiar with advanced concepts, practices and proceedurs within the chosed field. Nurse practitioners
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
However, many students take five years to complete the BSN, and many advanced nursing programs also require that applicants have at least a year of professional experience as RNs. As a result, even the most direct path to becoming an NP can take seven or eight years.
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
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.
Neonatal nurses need a lot of clinical experience, mentorships, and preceptor programs. Training might take anywhere from six weeks to three month to complete depending on how much prior work experience. Before one becomes a neonatal nurse you should work as an advanced practice nurse (APRNs). APRNs can work as neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) and neonatal clinical nurse specialists (CNSs). APRNs have specialized knowledge and may provide direct care with patients.
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
You must also be certified in Neonatal Resuscitation and/or Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing. Typically, there are about five to six years of study involved. I will be obtaining this education at Arkansas State University(ASU)-Beebe for my first two years and then plan on transferring to either Jonesboro or Conway to finish my education. I am also very interested in two really good programs with University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and/or the Baptist Health program. The great thing about them is that they will pay for your school as long as you sign to work for them
The nurse would want to ensure adequate nutrition for the baby and preventing aspiration or infection
A Neonatal nurse practitioner roughly makes about $107,500 and the income per year is about $124,540. The hourly pay a Neonatal nurse practitioner makes is based on experience. As a registered nurse, neonatal nurses have the opportunity to move into management positions, including moving up to being a unit manager or head nurse. One key to getting an advancement in the career field one has chosen is to continue getting educated and trained, while gaining experience and improved skills.(Benefits of being a Neonatal nurse 2010) Though all jobs have high work loads and stress that come along with it, Neonatal nurses spend many hours standing over incubators or isolette, possibly having to bend over, can stress the back. Neonatal nurses may deal with mental and emotional stress because some sick newborn babies don’t get to go back home with their families and the nurses may have to go and tell the parents of the deceased newborn. (Perkins, Sharon. Pros and Cons of being a Neonatal nurse) The schedule of NNP is not typical work day hours. All infants require different type of care twenty-four hours of the day. There are opportunities to work evening or night shifts when working as a Neonatal
A neonatal nurse practitioner is in the medial career field; with this information, you know this job will always be needed. “Because nearly 40,000 low-birth- weight babies are born each year in the United States, there will continue to be a market for neonatal nurses.” (Career Focus) Research has shown that there has been an alarming decline in the
Firstly, there is an array of knowledge that the neonatal nurse must attain before being competent to practice as a NICU nurse. Primarily having an understanding the anatomy and physiology of a preterm infant is key. Preterm infants present completely different than other patients, as they do not have the same body mechanisms as a fully developed individual (Drozdowicz & Dillard, 2014). These
In order to acquire a degree in nursing, the steps required are having a high school diploma and some form of formal education post high school. There are three different paths available: a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN), an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), or a hospital diploma of nursing (Krannich 72). A BSN program includes four years in college with the curriculum consisting of “assessment, disease management, decision making, health promotion and prevention, health care technology and policy, research, quality assurance, leadership, and management.” (Gregory 5). You are also required to complete clinical training, meaning working in a hospital for experience in the field with real people and situations. The ADN program only requires two to three years of education (Gregory 5). However, the ADN program had the most educational opportunities, or universities offering the program. The hospital diploma career path is not offered by every hospital, but only by seventy. The ADN programs available in
Neonatal nurses are registered nurses who are responsible to care for newborns who are critically ill or premature. (Slide 1: Neonatal nurses with babies [Photos]).
Nursing care of the newborn includes supporting cardiopulmonary and thermoregulatory function and identifying the infant. In addition, assess the infant for approximate gestational age (Murray, 2009).