Neonatal nurse practitioners are specially trained to care for critically ill or premature babies in hospitals with neonatal intensive care units. They require a master’s degree and two to three years of study after becoming a registered nurse. They can issue orders and make decisions about care and often work closely with parents. Training programs are available at nursing and medical schools.
A neonatal nurse practitioner is a nurse practitioner specially trained to care for critically ill or premature babies in major hospitals that have neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Training programs for this specialty, which require a master’s degree and two to three years of study after becoming a registered nurse, are often located near major hospitals so that ongoing patient care is included in the training. Some professionals who work in the NICU may have training in pediatric critical care nursing and work with patients of all ages who are in intensive care or critical care units.
There are different ways in which these nurses can work. They often report directly to a neonatologist or other specialists who may be dealing with the care of very sick children. They often have a number of patients that they supervise and may have more direct contact with parents, especially in large and extremely busy tertiary hospitals. Unlike registered nurses, who are generally not allowed to make as many medical decisions without medical orders, the neonatal nurse can issue orders and make decisions about the types of care to be performed based on urgent or emergency needs. The degree to which practitioners review claims with supervising physicians may vary from facility to facility.
Coming to this profession from a nursing point of view makes the neonatal nurse quite unique among physicians. Many master’s programs require a few years of experience in neonatal nursing, and this means that professionals may have spent significant time not only caring for their little patients, but also helping families understand what is going on. Neonatal nurses do a lot to help mothers and fathers cope with having very sick children. That experience often translates well if a nurse becomes a neonatal nurse. There may be more sense of including the family in the process, of carefully explaining the diagnosis, and of listening to the family’s concerns.
Many families who have had experience with these specialist nurses find that they are an extremely useful addition to medical teams and can particularly help with answering questions. Depending on the number of nurses employed, they may also be helpful as they may be more available. Although parents may see a neonatologist once a day, they may see a nurse several times a day.
Those interested in training to be a neonatal nurse can find many nursing and/or medical schools that offer such training. While requirements may differ, most will need to enter programs as a nurse with a bachelor’s degree. After completing the programs, which can take two to three years, nurses often need to take exams to be certified as professionals. Many hospitals that employ neonatal nurses have training programs for professional nurses and can secure employment as professionals when training is completed.
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