Neonatal Nurse Practitioner A baby was just born at 26 weeks gestation. Just over half the normal 40 weeks a baby should stay inside the mother. The baby is immediately whisked away and taken to be evaluated and prepared for a long journey ahead. Ever since I could remember babies and the nursery at the hospital have fascinated me. Whenever we would go visit a friend who had a baby, I would find myself peaking over the windows into the nursery. I have known for a while that working in the neonatal intensive care unit is what I want to pursue. Recently I have been looking into nurse practitioners and furthering my education beyond my BSN. Being able to care for these infants in the most critical stages of their life, and being able to provide them the support they need to survive outside the womb seems so satisfying . Neonatal nurse practitioners have years of education, deep history, detailed job description, high demands and some legal issues. Basic Information Education Requirements A n eonatal nurse practitioner is a nurse practitioner that specializes in caring for neonates. Nurse practitioners are in the broad category of advanced practice registered nurses, or APRN’s. In order to become a neonatal nurse practitioner, one must first be a licensed registered nurse and have a BSN. Many programs also require nurses to have two years of clinical experience before starting the program to become a nurse practitioner (United States, 2014). To become a neonatal
There are nine core competencies that the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) has adopted in which the nurse practitioner student’s education is based on: scientific foundation, leadership, quality, practice inquiry, technology and information literacy, policy, health delivery system, ethics, and independent practice competencies. This writer will describe and summarize the competencies as they relate to the nurse practitioners practice. After extensive research by this writer, she was able to conduct a thorough interview with a Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP). This writer has learned how the working CNP utilizes the competencies in her practice as a Neonatal Certified Nurse Practitioner.
This situation has made me grateful to be alive since I was able to be brought back to health due to these wonderful neonatal nurses who helped me recover, but not many newborn babies are fortunate enough to survive just like me as newborn babies have died and suffered due to the lack of supervision that neonatal nurses are incapable of providing.
In some point in time, during a person’s life they run into the question what do I want to be? They must find a career that they will enjoy or the time that they have spent in class and studying will be in vain. While doing research on the Georgia Career Information Center and from the constant idea throughout my life I have decided that I want to become a registered nurse. The type of work environment, the salary that the job provides and flexibility with work hours are all things that have drawn me to this occupation. I want to specialize in Neonatal. I have always enjoyed caring for people and making a difference to someone. When you become a nurse these are just some of the things that you are able to accomplish. Becoming a registered
As an aspiring Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, I will graduate from UNCG with my BSN, work for a year as an RN, and eventually attend a graduate school to accomplish my ultimate goal of obtaining my DNP. As a neonatal nurse practitioner, it is imperative to exude compassion, while demonstrating critical thinking skills when faced with arduous circumstances. I understand that working with distressed families in the NICU will be a challenging task, both emotionally and physically. I am aware that it is my responsibility as a nurse to not only know how to provide physical care to my patient's, but to also attend to their emotional needs and the needs of their loved ones. Nurses are expected to be the liaison between families and doctors. So, in the
Ever since I was a little girl, I was always telling my parents I wanted to be a doctor to help people. As I got older my sisters had babies and I always wanted to hold them and take care of them furthermore, just recently I had come across a defined profession caring for infants in a great deal of need. I have been interested in helping people in need, performing surgeries and caring for infants since I was approximately eight years old. I have recently been doing some research on a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP), and believe that the job description fits me well. I would find a colossal amount of joy in being a NNP because I love being around babies and would enjoy being able to make a difference in their early life, as well as in their family’s lives.
There are more than 70% of premature babies that are born between 34 and 36 weeks gestation a year. When a baby is born early, or born with birth defects, the Neonatal Intensive Care unit is its first home. The nurse’s in the NICU have the difficult job of preparing baby’s and parents for a health life together. A baby who has been put into the NICU will stay there until it is healthy enough to go home.
From an adolescent, the fate of the career had already been chosen into healthcare and was also inspired by several family members. Now, as a young adult, the pathway chosen is to be a Neonatal nurse, “Although neonatal nurses are skilled to care for healthy newborns, it is the neonatal nurse practitioner who is skilled in providing care for newborns in need of specialized attention.” (How to become a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner N.p, N.d.) The love of babies came from babysitting and having younger cousins, so this was the best fit. After knowing the direction to take for the future, with God leading the way, the number one job is to become a Neonatal nurse practitioner. The steps to get to this position is to learn the ends and outs of the career pathway, skills and knowledge and also the advantages and
I am interested in pursuing a career in nursing. A career that really interests me is a neonatal intensive care nurse. This is a type of nurse that works in a neonatal intensive care unit. These nurses often work with infants who were born prematurely, born with birth defects, or infants who are having critical complications during the first month after birth. Infants in the neonatal intensive care unit require constant monitoring and are often being treated for life threatening diseases. According to The National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) approximately 40,000 infants are born each year in the United States needing specialized NICU care. NICU nurses are always present when a baby is being delivered so they can provide immediate
Ever since I was about 10, I was extremely interested in becoming a neonatal nurse practitioner. I love babies and love helping others so I figured this particular job could be perfect for me. A neonatal nurse practitioner means you provide care for newborns in need of specialized attention for about the first month of their life. These newborns are usually premature or very sick and the nurse practitioners are usually their primary caregiver. NNP’s are responsible for their patients, exercising judgment when necessary to assess, diagnose, and initiate medical procedures. Many tasks include monitoring specialized equipment, including incubators and ventilators. Providing education and support to patients’ families regarding neonatal, intensive
Neonatal nurses need a lot of clinical experience, mentorships, and preceptor programs. Training might take anywhere from six weeks to three month to complete depending on how much prior work experience. Before one becomes a neonatal nurse you should work as an advanced practice nurse (APRNs). APRNs can work as neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) and neonatal clinical nurse specialists (CNSs). APRNs have specialized knowledge and may provide direct care with patients.
The career I chose is a Neonatal Nurse. According to an article on work.chron.com, there are three levels of neonatal nursing. A level 1 neonatal nursery offers care to healthy newborns. A level 2 neonatal nursery holds infants born prematurely or with an illness. A level 3 neonatal nursery, usually called a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), provides care to infants who are premature, brutally ill or too small. Infants admitted to a NICU may require ventilators, incubators or surgery. (Williams) The duties of a Neonatal Nurse include holding and comforting newborns, changing their diapers, feeding them and ensuring they gain the appropriate amount of weight, giving them the correct medication and the correct amount and
A good protocol is created from evidence-based medical practices agreed on by medical staff involved in anticoagulation therapy (i.e., all stakeholders) and addresses key decision points and respective courses of action integrated with the clinical judgment and experience of the practitioner.
There is a wide range of what a Labor and Delivery Registered Nurse can provide, such as planning a care system, taking vitals, monitoring patients, teaching them to care for their newborn, performing tests, recording, and charting information about patients, helping deliver a baby, and consulting with staff; just to name a few.
Premature babies typically have underdeveloped respiratory systems and problems maintaining body heat, so they may be kept on a respirator or in an incubator. Although the neonatal period is the first month after birth, these nurses often care for children up to age 2 who have long-term medical issues. While their primary focus is the health of the babies, neonatal nurses obviously will spend a lot of time with anxious parents who are visiting their children in the NICU and must be able to calmly and clearly explain the babies illnesses and treatment, as well as involve the parents in their
Nurses working within the neonatal unit require a particular set of skills to adequately fulfil their roles and responsibilities within this fragile setting. The role of a neonatal nurse is to provide intensive nursing care to an infant who has inherited complications at birth due to varied reasons (Tubs-Colley, Pickler, Younger, & Mark, 2015). These complications often manifest as undeveloped internal organs that make simple bodily functions such as breathing and regulating body temperature incredibly difficult. The neonatal nurse provides close monitoring and extremely individualized care per patient to stabilise and further develop these body systems artificially post-uterine (Drozdowicz & Dillard, 2014).