What Is the Starting Wage of a Neonatal Nurse?

Neonatal nurses work with newborns.

Neonatal nurses are registered nurses, or RNs, who treat and work with newborns and educate their patients' families on the newborns' health conditions and treatment. Some neonatal nurses work with healthy newborns still in the hospital after birth, while others work in the neonatal intensive care unit, also known as NICU.

Salary

Although the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not separate out statistics for neonatal nursing, it lists the starting salary for registered nurses overall as below $45,000 annually.

Outlook

There is currently a shortage of neonatal nurses. As birth rates continue to rise, neonatal nurses will be more in demand. Employment opportunities for registered nurses in 2018 are expected to represent a 22 percent increase over 2008 employment figures.

Training

Only registered nurses may work as neonatal nurses. Becoming a registered nurse requires the completion of a bachelor's degree or an associate's degree in nursing and a passing score on the licensing examination in the state in which the nurse will be employed. Students gain exposure to neonatal nursing as they rotate through periods of focus on various specialties of healthcare.

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Registered Nurses
• Medical Career Training: Neonatal Nursing Career Overview