Registered nurses now have a choice of pursuing a neonatal nursing path, which is relatively new in comparison to more traditional nursing career options; and neonatal nursing is a specialty with plenty of openings for nurses that want to work with new infants. Chronically ill and premature babies require special care, and those nurses from the neonatal specialty help mothers know how to look after their infants and work with the infants themselves.
You might be wondering specifically what a neonatal nurse does? A neonatal nurse provides specialty and intensive care to babies twenty-eight days old or less. If you're a neonatal nurse, you then have a chance of three work settings:
Healthy infants are kept in a Level I nursery. Due to all the changes to insurance along with shortened hospital stays, new mothers regularly room-in with their babies, therefore there aren't many Level I positions.
A Level II nursery offers specialized care for premature infants as well as those dealing with a problem. In circumstances like these, the baby requires additional care and often specialized feedings; oxygen or intravenous fluids might be administered; a lengthier stay could possibly be required.
Level III nursery is a neonatal ICU which can provide care beyond the expertise of a Level I or II nursery. These babies most likely are not of sufficient size, premature, or with ailments that require advanced technological care. The babies who stay in these nurseries often need ventilators, incubators, or even surgical intervention. Normally you only find Level III nurseries in a children's hospital or bigger hospitals.
For anyone who is interested in becoming a neonatal nurse, you must first put in the two to four years that are necessary to become an RN. After graduation, you must pass a state licensing exam so you can become an RN.
The qualifications for being a neonatal nurse are varied based on the institution. There are institutions that want candidates having at least a year's experience with either adult health nursing or medical surgical. Other medical centers will hire registered nurses without any prior experience.
Once you complete nursing school, you'll have to complete continuing education hours, which can be dictated by the state and often by the group issuing your certification. The state you are licensed in determines the required number of hours you must take of continuing education in order for you to renew your license every couple years.
What kind of income can you make as a neonatal nurse?
The starting wage for nurses who are new to the field of neonatal nursing is $38,000 to 44,000 in the Midwest part of the US. On both the east and west coast of the United States, the beginning salary can be as much as $40,000.. If you are working in the South, then you can look for $30,000. If you have no experience, probably the most you can expect to ever start at would be $48,000. Incomes for experienced nurses are usually substantially greater.
Neonatal nursing is really a fulfilling career field. Despite the fact that sick infants will take an emotional toll, sending home a new baby with its mommy after you've helped make the newborn child healthy is enormously satisfying.
