What Is Neonatal Nurse Practitioner?
There are certain nurses who undergo focused trainings in specific areas and they are called advanced nurse practitioner. A neonatal nurse practitioner is an example of these kinds of nurses.Nursing students who want to pursue a nursing career undergo studies in different areas that range from human anatomy, to pharmacology, maternal and child health and even psychology. Four years of education however is not enough for these students as they have to take and pass a rigorous examination before becoming registered nurses. It is only after successfully passing this examination and work as registered nurse that you may choose to pursue to a career as an advanced nurse practitioner specializing in a specific area.
Once you decide to pursue a career as a neonatal nurse practitioner, you must need to meet certain necessary qualifications. It is crucially important to be a registered nurse and that means you must have earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing and thereafter get a nursing certification. For those who want to pursue a career in the United States, passing National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) exam is required. For those who aim to practice a career in Canada, passing the Canadian Registered Nurse Examination is necessary. Aside from earning a bachelor’s degree and getting a nursing certification, a working experience in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is needed. There are some neonatal intensive care programs that would require two (2) years of clinical experience in neonatal intensive care before you are allowed to become a neonatal nurse practitioner although there are post-graduate programs that will only require you to have one (1) year of experience. A Master of Science degree in nursing or a doctoral degree is also a necessary qualification before you can engage in neonatal nursing.
Those who are qualified to be a neonatal nurse practitioner may choose to work either in a level 1 nursery or in a neonatal intensive care unit. A nursery is a place where healthy newborns are given care. A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit however is the place where those newborns needing extraordinary care and attention are taken cared of using specialized technology. A neonatal intensive care unit cater to newborns who are born prematurely, those who suffer from respiratory illnesses and other newborns who suffer from special conditions that require close monitoring and supervision. There are also newborns suffering from problems with their immunity and circulatory functions who are required to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit and their conditions call for specialized attention from extraordinarily skilled nurses using advanced medical technology. Babies who are born with congenital diseases also need to be in the neonatal intensive care unit because they have more needs compared to babies who are born healthy.
A Neonatal nurse practitioner is someone who is not only a registered nurse but is also someone who studied two (2) years of post-graduate education and training and has worked extensively in a clinical setting. Once the neonatal nurse practitioner is armed with logical assessment and well-thought-out judgment, he or she can perform certain procedures independently and accurately.
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner’s Duties
The duties and responsibilities of a neonatal nurse practitioner involve inserting intravenous lines and making sure that it is secure and in place, doing lumbar punctures, performing resuscitation to newborns, supplying extra information and knowledge to the members of the neonatal team, assisting doctors in consultations with patients and taking part in important medical studies and researches. A neonatal nurse practitioner’s duty does not end with taking care of the newborn; it also includes providing reliable information to families regarding their baby’s conditions coupled with encouraging words and support to help them get through the stresses and worries over their baby’s treatment. It is not an easy job to do as it is not only physically taxing to take care of babies who require special attention but it is also emotionally draining because regardless of how much care and attention the babies receive, the reality remains that not all of them will survive. However, the hard work is always worth it and always pays off at the end of the day when babies improve and grow well enough to be able to go home with their happy families. Neonatal nurse practitioners are well compensated with higher salaries when compared to those engaged in other nursing fields due to the rigorous and strict requirements before they are allowed to engage in such practice. The pressure of the responsibility attached to their work also plays a huge part in their compensation and salaries. Practicing in neonatal nursing is not a walk in the park because it is challenging as much as fulfilling. Neonatal specialists works in a team-oriented environment as they work together with neonatologists, parents and other medical personnel to provide the best health care system for their patients. Nurses engaged in neonatal nursing offer their services in hospitals, clinical areas that include care centers in communities and neonatal intensive care facilities. Neonatal specialists may even offer their services in medical researches and studies or serve as academicians or consultants. Neonatal nursing professionals perform three principal roles but only two of these roles remain to be in high demand. The first role is called level one care and it involves attending to babies who are born healthy. However, because healthy newborns are now allowed to be with their mothers as soon as a few hours after they are born, the demand for this kind of nursing is quickly declining. The second and third roles are called levels two and three and they require administering extra care to babies who are born prematurely or those who suffer from serious illnesses. Neonatal nurses involved in these two levels of care work in neonatal intensive care units and focus in caring for sick newborns. Out of these three principal roles, intensive care work is the most demanding because it involves the administration of care to seriously ill infants and a continuous monitoring of their condition while using equipment with advanced technology. The work also involves giving instructions to parents on how to give the best care possible to their sick babies. Hence the importance of neonatal nurse is crucial. Only those registered nurses with bachelor’s degree in nursing science and is certified in neonatal care may serve as neonatal nurses. Once this level of qualification is attained, the next level would be that of neonatal nursing practitioner and this requires one to have a master’s degree in nursing science before getting a license to work as a Nurse Practitioner. Other state regulations and requirements may apply depending on which state the nurse resides in. The average yearly compensation for neonatal nursing can reach as high as eighty thousand dollars because of stricter educational requirements. There are also some countries where neonatal nursing practitioners may receive a compensation that could reach as high as a six figure amount. Further information can be found in www.nursetrainingcenter.com. The demand for skilled neonatal nurses is high especially in this country where more than forty thousand premature and underweight babies are given birth annually. The care needed by these infants requires months and even years of rigorous training and intense focus and this alone needs quite a number of not only qualified but also competent neonatal specialists. These strict qualifications proved to be fruitful because teams of neonatal doctors and nurses working together have managed to dramatically improve infant survival rates through extensive knowledge and the use of the best medical equipment available. A demand for new highly skilled and competent neonatal nursing practitioners may be greater if this trend continues.
A neonatal nurse plays a very crucial role in a sick newborn baby’s life as well as its mother’s well-being. Working either within specialist neonatal facilities, like maternity or children’s hospital, or in a community, a neonatal nurse look after babies born premature or with serious health condition. She also gives support to its mother at the time when the latter is anxious and stressed over the trying experience of having a sick child hence the importance of neonatal nurse is paramount.
The neonatal care is actually categorized in three recognized levels, namely:
- Level I is called the healthy newborn nursery, where healthy newborn infants are temporarily placed right after birth. However, this level is rarely functional anymore because the common practice now is putting both the baby and mother in the same room. Besides, a healthy newborn baby does not stay in the hospital for long.
- Level II caters to babies born premature. They may not be suffering from major ailment, but they may be too weak or too small to be discharged with the mother after delivery. They just need to be given extra attention and specialized feeding.
- Level III, which is more commonly known as the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), is designated for babies that cannot be treated in the first two levels during their first twenty eight days of life because of serious health conditions. Babies admitted in this section could be too small for their age, premature, or term babies but suffering from serious health conditions, requiring high technology medical care. Most often these infants need ventilators, incubators, or surgery.
It is in Level III where a neonatal nurse works harder. Since the first few days of a seriously ill baby are tremendously critical, the neonatal nurse practitioner has to be very cautions, closely watching its health and giving it complete attention. Such baby is likely to develop respiratory conditions that, if not treated promptly and accurately, can be life-threatening. Besides, its nutritional needs require a specialist’s care.
Although the duties of a neonatal nurse somewhat vary from one hospital to another, their general tasks are basically the same, namely:
- Perform neonatal clinical care to premature and seriously ill newborn babies in the intensive care unit.
- Conduct a close, direct, and regular monitoring of the baby’s body temperature, food intake, discharges, respiration, and actions, and report the same to her immediate superior; take charge of testing and administering appropriate medicines prescribed by the physician; keep track of the baby’s progress, and; provide general and primary neonatal nursing care to the newborn. As mentioned earlier, a neonatal nurse has to be very cautious and should look out for possible respiratory disorder and other serious issues on the infant.
- In emergency situations, a neonatal nurse is expected to perform primary treatment on the newborn and notify its doctor for further action.
- Execute blood check-up and assist in blood transfusion and other critical procedures performed on the newborn.
- Feed the newborn on time; change its diapers and beddings; maintain a hygienic condition around the baby; sterilize and insert IVs, and adjust ventilators.
- Maintain an accurate and chronologically arranged health record of the baby.
- Clear doubts and fears from the baby’s parents by assuring them of utmost care and attention on their baby. Take time to address the emotional and psychological needs of both mother and baby.
- Assist and teach family members of the newborn on the proper care of the baby.
In addition, a neonatal nurse may also orient and train new nurses on the procedures and system in caring for the newborn, especially on how to operate the different equipment in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Salary
For a service-oriented individual, monetary rewards or salaries are, most often, not much of an issue, for as long as he loves and enjoys his job. Besides, what is the value of money, then, when you are not happy with your job? It would surely be so much of a burden than a career. hence let us delve more into neonatal nurse salary.
Pay should not be your only guiding force when deciding on a career, especially in the field of nursing. Nevertheless, for the sake of those interested in going into the nursing profession, here is a general idea on how much a neonatal nurse practitioner usually gets. The neonatal nursing specialty area is among the top ten highest-paid nursing careers. According to a listing in Indeed.com as of February 24, 2013, the average annual salary that a neonatal nurse may receive is $95,000. This figure, however, varies depending on significant factors, such as the practitioner’s educational qualifications, length of practical experience, type of employer, and location of the job. A neonatal nurse working in a large city-based hospital is paid more than what his counterpart in a smaller hospital or health care facility in the rural area receives; while a new neonatal nurse with less experience obviously gets lower salary compared with one who has been in the field for around five years. And of course, an experienced neonatal nurse practitioner who has been working in the field for ten years or more is paid much higher, whose pay may even reach up to $190,000 annually.
To clarify further and to set the record straight, it is not a definitive finding that a male neonatal nurse practitioner earns more than his female counterpart does. Rather, pay is based on duties performed, and not on a person’s gender. The basic principle that applies here is that, “you worked hard to get where you are”.
To get the position of a neonatal nurse demands so many requirements; and once there, he or she is expected to perform complex tasks. Working in coordination with a neonatologist, another specially trained professional that handles high-risk newborn issues, a neonatal nurse practitioner provides care for infants with health conditions. Their joint effort involves different procedures, such as performing resuscitation, incubation, prescribing medication, ventilation, consultancy with parents, and communicating with physicians. Therefore, it is but fitting that a neonatal nurse practitioner is paid well.
If you are one of those who are considering neonatal nursing, you are on the right track because based on forecast by some experts, the job growth and career opportunities in this specialty area are constantly high and still rising. It is even projected that there will even be more demand for neonatal nurse practitioners by the year 2020.
But you must also bear in mind that the nursing field, in general, has so much to offer – both financially and career advancement-wise. Neonatal nursing is only one of the more than one hundred rewarding specialty areas. In fact, based on accounts of professional nurses themselves, they found it difficult to choose just one specialty area in advanced practice nursing because there were so many to choose from. Besides, surveys have gathered these top ten highest-paid nursing careers.
Top 10 Highest Nursing Positions:
- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
- Nurse Researcher
- Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
- Certified Nurse Midwife
- Pediatric Endocrinology Nurse
- Orthopedic Nurse
- Nurse Practitioner
- Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Gerontological Nurse Practitioner
- Neonatal Nurse