Neonatal Nurse is one of the most popular careers in the health care industry. With the ongoing presence of newborns, and the increasing number of parents who need assistance in providing professional extra care for their babies, neonatal nurse have promising opportunities in the future.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, health care providers are currently adding on average of 20,000 new jobs per month.
Not only in the U.S, neonatal nurse has also become one of the most sought-after careers in Canada, UK, and Australia.
Here you can find anything related to neonatal nurse; the Salary, Programs, and other important information to become a neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) in the U.S.
As requirements and other conditions are different in other countries, for those of you who reside outside the United States, we suggest you visit the appropriate section within this website.
What is a neonatal nurse?
A neonatal nurse is a registered nurse (RN) who provides nursing care for newborns. Most neonatal nurses care for infants until they are released from the hospital, but due to certain health problems, a neonatal nurse might provide nursing care much longer.
In the United States alone, every year, more than 40,000 infants are born with low birth weights, and with the serious efforts from medical practitioners, the survival rates are now 10 times better than a decade ago.
What is a neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP)?
A neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) is is an advanced practice nurse who specialize in providing care to acutely ill infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
NICU is a special area of a hospital that is devoted to the care of critically ill babies. Normally a NICU is completely separated from the nursery for healthy newborns, and may not even be in the same building. The staff for the NICU and the staff for the newborn nursery are completely separate as well.
A neonatal nurse practitioner is a professional registered nurse with clinical experience in neonatal nursing, especially in the NICU. A formal education of Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or Doctor of Nursing Practice is also required for the profession.
Commonly, to pursuing an MSN degree, you must have at least 2 years of experience as a registered nurse in a Level III (or equivalent) NICU within the last 5 years.
What is a neonatal nurse job description?
So what does a neonatal nurse do?
Although basically (according to the American Academy of Pediatrics), neonatal nurses can work in either a Level I, II, or III nursery, nowadays almost all of them only work in Level II and III.
Level II is considered a special care nursery. A neonatal nurse who works in this level may take care of premature babies and those with certain illnesses.
Here are several things you might do as a neonatal nurse:
- Attend a premature infant’s delivery
- Assisting a new mother with breastfeeding
- Providing a highly technical care for an acutely ill infant
- Providing a supportive care for a mildly ill newborn
- Dealing with an infant who is on a ventilator
- Caring an infant who needs several IV medications
- Work with parents and families to integrate them into the care you provide
Level III is the NICU, where infants need high technology care, which requires special equipments or surgery. This is where neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) do their jobs.
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) Job Description
A neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) is an advanced practice nurse who works with the physicians and nursing staff to provide comprehensive critical care to the infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
As an NNP, you will be involved in more advanced procedures such as:
- Line placements
- Incubations
- Lumbar punctures
- Newborn resuscitation
- Education of other members in the neonatal team
- Medical research
- Consultation
An NNP implements independent judgement in assessment, diagnosis, instigation of assigned medical procedures, and evaluation, coherent with state nurse practice laws, institutional guidelines, and the NNP’s education and experience.
How to become a neonatal nurse?
First, you have to enroll in an accredited school of nursing, and you have 3 options for this:
- A baccalaureate degree
- An associate degree
- A diploma degree
A Baccalaureate Degree
- Through a college or university
- Commonly takes 4 years to achieve
- Most flexible for career path
An Associate Degree
- Through a junior or community college
- Commonly takes 2-3 years to achieve
A Diploma Degree
- Through a hospital based school of nursing
- Nowadays, very few students take this route due to its inflexibility for career path
You can also enroll in other programs which provide more flexibility for continuing toward a bachelor’s degree. These programs are usually affiliated with a community college.
What if you have a degree in another field?
If this is the case, then you can enroll in an accelerated program and obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). This usually takes 1-2 years.
Some facts to become a neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP):
- A master’s or doctoral is required to become a neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP)
- In a short time, a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) might be required to work as a neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) – a bachelor’s degree is required to pursue a DNP
- You must also have a clinical experience in the NICU