Neonatal nursing is one possible career option for registered nurses
Are you looking at career options? Do you enjoy taking care of newborn babies? Then, perhaps neonatal nursing is the right career choice for you. Most young men and women have cared for newborn babies, at some time in their lives.
While newborn infant care is a wonderful experience for most student nurses, who are training in large, general hospitals, sometimes there are those who are frightened at the thought of being responsible for the care of newborn babies.
Traditionally, registered nurses have done electives in obstetrics and obtained basic training and practice, in the care of newborn babies. But with the shift to college and university programs for registered nurses and the introduction of neonatal nursing as a highly specialized field, that is no longer possible everywhere.
What is neonatal nursing?
The word neonatal consists of the word neo meaning new and natal referring to birth. The word neonate refers to an infant, in the first month of his or her life (or 28 days).
Neonatology is relatively new term that originated in 1960. This refers to a specific branch of medicine that pertains to the care, development and diseases of the newborn infant. The terms neonatal nurse and neonatal nursing are used in neonatology. (1)
Neonatal nursing care is classified on three different levels.
The first level involves the nursing care of normal, healthy, newborn babies. These babies are in a nursery setting, in a general hospital. But, with the current trend towards shorter hospitalization periods for mothers, many newborns now stay with the new mothers in their hospital rooms and are discharged with them, within the first few days following birth. Registered nurses take care of the newborn infants in the mother's rooms, until the time of discharge.
The second level involves the nursing care of small or premature babies, as well as those who are ill. These newborn infants are in nursery settings that offer a higher level of nursing care. They are monitored closely and fed more frequently. They may require incubators with oxygen, tube feedings and intravenous therapy, in order to thrive.
Other than having been born early, or just needing more time to attain a birth weight appropriate for discharge, these infants are usually healthy newborns. Sometimes they need to be isolated, while treated for infections.
The third level involves the nursing care of newborn babies, who require more complex, nursing care by specialized neonatal nurses. Some of these infants are seriously ill and may not survive, without highly specialized care and treatment.
They are usually very young preemies or newborn babies with medical problems of various kinds. They might also be neonates, who require surgery or are critically ill. They are in incubators in neonatal intensive care units, equipped with oxygen and cardiac monitors. They are constantly monitored by registered nurses.
The higher levels of neonatal care usually involve more complex, medical or surgical treatments and procedures that are only possible with advanced medical technology. This kind of care is at large, general hospitals that have neonatal intensive care units or children's hospitals.
Registered nurses often work with newborn babies in a general hospital setting, but the level of neonatal care they give depends upon their previous training and practice. They may be required to pursue higher levels of neonatal training and practice, in order to work in neonatal intensive care units.
Another traditional realm of newborn care involves midwives, where newborn babies are cared for at home, after being born there. Currently, this kind of care may or may not be regarded as neonatal care.
Neonatal care, as a career option for registered nurses, is becoming increasingly specialized.
A registered nurse may take neonatal intensive care courses online, at a college or in a hospital setting. Or he or she may choose higher education at a local university and become a neonatal nurse practitioner or train as clinical nurse specialist in neonatology.
Neonatal care requires special skills in the realm of medication administration, intravenous therapy and newborn cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. Mathematical calculations are particularly important with regard to neonatal care. Some large, general hospitals offer certificate courses for neonatal care and neonatal resuscitation.
In order to be employed as a nurse, who works in a neonatal intensive care unit, one must first obtain certification and registration, as a professional registered nurse and then, acquire higher levels of training and practice in neonatal nursing through a university. In other words, he or she must to obtain professional certification as a neonatal nurse.
Registered nurses who work in remote areas, may not have access to more advanced neonatal training, but newborn infants still need care. Newborn babies with serious medical problems may need to be transferred to children's hospitals, if there are no neonatal intensive care units.
While neonatal nursing is not something that all registered nurses want to do as a career choice, becoming a specialized neonatal nurse can be a highly rewarding profession for those who love working with newborn babies.
It is a profession that requires the registered nurse to have gentle hands, a loving heart and a lot of patience. It also requires a high level of professional nursing skills and the ability to interact and communicate well with new parents, their families and communities.
For those interested in pursuing a career in neonatal nursing, you may obtain further information at local colleges and universities, as well as online, first with regard to how to become a registered nurse and secondly, with respect to specialized courses in neonatology.
Love newborn babies? Think about neonatal nursing as a possible career option.
(1) Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc.,
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