Becoming a Neonatal Nurse

Becoming a Neonatal Nurse

http://www.becominganrn.net/becoming-an-rn/becoming-a-neonatal-nurse/neonatal-nurse/ Becoming a Neonatal Nurse would be a rational goal for an RN. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that a little over ninety two percent of registered nurses are female. For that reason, lots of RNs have likely been through giving birth and will relate with a Neonatal Nurse.

In fact, any woman who has given birth in a hospital in the past half century likely received care from a Neonatal Nurse. Neonatal Intensive Care Units didn’t become part of hospitals until the 60s. Now, these are seen in just about every hospital within the United States.

As a Neonatal Nurse, you will be doing work in a variety of different settings for example medical clinics, pediatric offices, ERs, where you will be giving care to newborns. You’ll be able to administer medications, initially read the results, monitor vital signs, order tests and even train new mothers how to take care of their newborns.

You’ll also need to be capable of providing specialized care to mothers and babies who have gone through a C-section More often than not, Neonatal Nurses will be helping babies that are either preterm, or are under the age of two.

If being a Neonatal Nurse in a setting of a hospital is your objective, then you will work in one of three different types of newborn nursery facilities:

Level I: provide to healthy babies.
Level II: take care of premature or ill babies.
Level III: treat newborn babies with critical health issues.

A Level III nursery is typically found in larger hospitals or children’s hospitals. A Level three nurse is also referred to as a NICU Nurse. They’re going to attend to patients that Level I and II are not equipped to take care of. Therefore, as a Neonatal Nurse you might be taking care of babies who are perfectly healthy, or for mothers and/or newborns battling with serious health complications.

RNs looking to work in this career will have to earn a Master’s Degree from a neonatal nurse practitioner training program. The undergraduate part of the degree doesn’t need to be specialized.

Before you can sign up for the Master’s degree program, you are going to first have to earn a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree You need not be licensed to join a master’s degree program, for the reason that a lot of graduate programs only require that applicants qualify for licensure.

The program will prepare individuals to deal with infants. During training, nurses learn about those illnesses common in newborns and the treatment for those disorders. A portion of the training will also involve clinicals in local neonatal units.

The required classes will include stuff like neonatal care, fetus physiology and pediatric pharmacology, as well as healthcare system basics. Should you sign up for a web-based masters program, you are going to take clinicals onsite at a local medical facility.

Requirements with regard to continuing education can vary among states.

The National Association of Neonatal Nurses sponsors online conferences for those who need additional education after becoming a Neonatal Nurse. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u_WYiM6hGQ