The Role of the Neonatal Nurse
The neonatal nurse will work in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a children's hospital or at a hospital that specializes in premature infant care. Neonatal nurses must have compassion and a devotion to caring for infants with many different needs and a way of connecting with the parents of a sick or premature infant.
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Level I
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Level I neonatal nurses work in maternity wards caring for healthy newborn babies. The nurse monitors the newborns after birth, takes the babies to the new mothers and is on staff to feed, hold or change diapers if the new mother cannot have her baby in her room for any reason. The level I neonatal nurse positions are declining because most new mothers keep the newborns in their rooms with them until they leave the hospital.
Level II
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The level II neonatal nurse will work with sick or premature babies that are in need of continued monitoring and care. Level II nurses will work together with Level III neonatal nurses to monitor, feed and care for sick or premature babies. Level II neonatal nurse can work in children's hospitals and NICU units in hospitals under the supervision of a Level III neonatal nurse.
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Level III
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Level III nurses will work together with specialists such as nutritionists and respiratory specialists to keep the babies alive while their bodies continue to grow or for sick babies, continue to heal. A level III neonatal nurse is in high demand in children's hospitals and NICU hospitals. The level III neonatal nurse will help parents learn to care for the infant and answer any questions that parents have about equipment being used on the infant.
Training
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Registered nurses that have completed a four-year nursing degree program with certification in Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing and/or Neonatal Resuscitation can apply to work in a neonatal unit. Some NICU units will require that a neonatal nurse have additional years of clinical experience working in a hospital before being hired to work with sick and premature infants in the NICU.
Wages and Job Outlook
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The outlook for Level II and Level III neonatal nurses will continue to grow in children's hospitals and NICU units. In 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a registered nurse made anywhere from $51,640 to $76,570 and this salary is expected to increase with demand and the need for qualified neonatal nurses.
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References
- Photo Credit operation nurse image by Andrey Rakhmatullin from Fotolia.com
