Exploring specialties in neonatal nursing

Before you select on this specialization, it’s value knowing easy methods to grow to be a neonatal nurse and what to anticipate.

What is newborn care?

When considering neonatal nursing, or any specialty, it’s value learning more concerning the patients served and the character of the work. Babies in the primary 28 days of life are called so-called newborns. “The neonatal period is the most sensitive period for a child’s survival,” said Rachael Zastrow, NNP-BC, APNP, CPNP-PC and chair National Neonatal Nurses Association. Many diseases are diagnosed in newborns, equivalent to prematurity, congenital defects, surgical problems, heart defects and infections. “These babies are often sick for months and spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit,” she said. Neonatal nurses look after infants who experience problems immediately after birth and for kids with long-term, complex health problems related to their premature birth or diagnosis. “ICU nurses are also caring for their patients’ families to help them get through this turbulent time,” Zastrow said. ICU nurses may occasionally meet with their patients after discharge from the hospital at a developmental follow-up clinic within the ICU or while providing home health care services, she added.

What does a neonatal nurse do?

There is a misconception that NICU nurses only hold and feed babies. “This couldn’t be further from the truth,” Zastrow said.

“ICU nurses are heroes who give a voice to our smallest and sickest patients who don’t have a voice of their own,” Zastrow said.

NICU nurses provide 24/7, protected and developmentally appropriate look after premature and seriously ailing newborns and infants, she added. The work consists of:

• Administration of medicines
• Intravenous fluid monitoring
• Protection of the respiratory tract and central lines
• Administration of blood products
• Providing nutrition
• Traveling with patients for procedures outside the intensive care unit, equivalent to MRI or interventional radiology visits
• Charts – and numerous them

In addition to their assigned patients, ICU nurses also attend high-risk deliveries and cesarean sections. They also accept patients transferred from lower-level intensive care units. Newborn nursing care extends to families and caregivers of infants because it is a difficult time for them as well. “NICU nurses not only care for infants, but they must also provide families with a caring and safe environment,” Zastrow said.

How to grow to be a neonatal nurse?

To grow to be a neonatal nurse, you could first obtain an RN license within the state where you propose to practice. The next step is to search out a job offer. Zastrow said that up to now, it was difficult to get into the neonatal nursing unit when you did not have prior experience or didn’t know someone who could refer you. Due to nurse shortages, it is not uncommon for ICUs to rent latest graduates who’ve graduated from nursing school. It normally takes 4 to 6 months to arrange a brand new ICU nurse. “The training can be extended if necessary, depending on competency,” she said. Former NICU nurse Cheri DiStefano, BSN, RN, current corporate customer success manager at Relias, parent company of Nurse.com, said, “If you aspire to be a neonatal or NICU nurse, I recommend you reach out with people who work in the neonatal intensive care unit who may become supporters of your work in this unit. Seeking opportunities to work in a neonatal intensive care unit as a nurse may also open doors for you. “Neonatal centers need help at the front desk or volunteers to cuddle vulnerable babies,” DiStefano said.

Skills needed to look after newborns

The skills needed in neonatal nursing are the identical skills required of any nurse working in an intensive care unit, Zastrow said. These skills should include the flexibility to:

• Think critically
• Adapt to latest tasks in a dynamic environment
• Stay focused
• Make split-second decisions
• Stay calm in stressful work conditions
• Show concern and compassion for families
• Collaboration with multidisciplinary teams
• Communicate clearly
• Work long shifts, on holidays and at night

Demand and remuneration of neonatal nurses

Like all nurses, neonatal nurses are in demand. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects. 6% job growth for all registered nurses from 2021 to 2031. “According to PayScale data from July 2022, neonatal nurses can expect to earn $71,060,” Zastrow said. Nurse.com 2022 Nurse Salary Survey Report calculated the common RN salary to be $78,000, bearing in mind all specialties and experience levels. If you select to proceed practicing and grow to be a neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP), the prospects are also favorable. BLS projects Increase within the variety of jobs for nurses by 40%., anesthetic nurses and midwifery nurses in 2021–2031. According to the BLS, the median salary for nurses was $120,680 in May 2021. This agrees with Nurse.com 2022 Nurse Salary Survey Report which shows that the common salary of all APRNs was $120,000.

Challenges of neonatal nursing

Neonatal nurses find caring for newborns and their families to be rewarding but difficult. DiStefano said certainly one of the most important challenges is the quantity of data needed to offer expert care. Two examples are blood tests and vital signs in newborns – these are different from those in adult and pediatric patients. Furthermore, most intensive care units are segmented by body systems or specialist areas, equivalent to the neurology unit, the cardiac unit, and the surgical unit, for instance. “This means that NICU nurses must be experts in all body systems for newborns in high-severity situations,” DiStefano said. ICU nursing also can affect you emotionally, with a lot of ups and downs – sometimes throughout the same shift.

“To be great in this role, you have to take care of your patients and their families,” DiStefano said. “However, the empathy and tenderness that characterizes a great nurse also exposes us to deep sadness when a patient cannot be saved or when the outcome of treatment is poor.”

The joys of feeding newborns

Working as an NNP is “the most amazing job in the world,” Zastrow said. “Every day I work, I am blessed to be one of the first to welcome tiny humans into the world. I can save lives and bring joy to families. I watch children on the brink of death turn the corner and thrive.” Of course, it also supports families within the face of death. Although the work is difficult, DiStefano said, “It’s one of the most rewarding roles in the world.”