Neonatal Nurse – A Meaningful Career Choice

To be a neonatal nurse you have to be a guardian for new babies. Once this path, you are deciding that this is the best possible path for you to follow. The person that loves children and loves to help the parents adjust to having a newborn, a level 1 neonatal nurse is the right choice. Level 1 means that you are dealing with healthy babies in the nursery. Many parents prefer to keep their newborn in the room with them so the need for someone in this role is not as prominent.

A level two neonatal nurse cares for the babies that were premature or that are not as strong as they need to be when they are born so someone that is caring and that wants to give love and support to the new child would be great in this position. These nurses provide certain therapies for the babies and help prepare them to be discharged once they are strong enough. They get to watch the child improve and finally be sent home to their families that may have been waiting for a while.

A nurse that works in the NICU, or neonatal intensive-care unit, is someone that deals with the tragically ill babies. These babies need extra time and attention to ensure that they remain alive and can grow. A lower level nurse may not be able to handle the responsibilities that come with this unit. Specific practices and machines are used in the NICU so the nurse that work there must be familiar with them. If a nurse decides to try to work in the NICU as a neonatal nurse and then finds that they are not able to do it, they may be able to pass up the opportunity and work in another area.

A neonatal nurse must at least have an RN degree, which means they must have accomplished an ASN or a BSN degree. Each of the different hospitals or medical facilities may have different requirements for the nurses that can work in these different roles. Some locations have a requirement that the nurse have a specific amount of experience before they would be considered for such a position. You may find that your state has different requirements than other states nearby.

Someone that is interested in working as a neonatal nurse should plan on taking specific classes that will give them the knowledge that they need to work with the children that are so sick. They will have to know about specific medications that are used and that are high risk medications as well as having a good knowledge about specialty equipment like resuscitation and ventilators. These children depend on the nurses and their knowledge of the procedures and equipment so that they can get better.

A neonatal nurse must also be able to maintain their professionalism while they are working with parents that are very stressed out. Providing comfort to family members that are upset is one part of the process as is giving them the information that they need to ensure that they understand what is happening to their loved one.

To learn more about the neonatal nurse profession, please visit my website here: Neonatal Nurse