{"id":5409,"date":"2018-05-07T12:00:03","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T16:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/?p=5409"},"modified":"2018-04-26T15:16:16","modified_gmt":"2018-04-26T19:16:16","slug":"what-is-a-neonatal-nurse-nurses-week-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/what-is-a-neonatal-nurse-nurses-week-2018","title":{"rendered":"What is a Neonatal Nurse? | Nurses Week 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Happy Nurses Week! Here at TravelNurseSource.com<\/a>, we thought it would be a good idea to honor nurses by shedding some light on a number of unique, popular nursing specialties, like neonatal nursing. Whether you\u2019re fresh out of nursing school or an experienced nurse looking for a change in specialty, neonatal nursing is definitely worth considering! What is a neonatal nurse? Read along as we outline what neonatal nurses do and how to become one, as well as a salary overview and job outlook.<\/p>\n

What is a Neonatal Nurse?<\/h2>\n

According to the National Association of Neonatal Nurses<\/a>, neonatal nursing is a specialty that involves working with newborn infants born with medical problems like prematurity, birth defects, infections, and cardiac malformations. While the neonatal period is defined as the first month of life, these infants are typically ill for months and require diligent care. Depending on the severity of the newborn\u2019s condition, a neonatal nurse will provide all kinds of care, from minimal to intensive care. These nurses can work in clinics, hospitals, or sometimes in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). With that being said, neonatal nurses must be diligent individuals who can work well under pressure.<\/p>\n

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What Does a Neonatal Nurse Do?<\/h2>\n

The neonatal specialty is typically divided into three levels<\/a>: I, II, and III. Level I neonatal nurses care for healthy newborns. These infants are in the hospital for a short period of time and don\u2019t require intensive care. Level II nurses care for babies who are premature or were born sick and require constant medical attention. Level III nurses have the most intensive responsibilities, as they care for infants who are severely premature or seriously ill. These babies typically require special equipment like ventilators or incubators. While level I nurses provide minimal care to newborns, level II and III nurses must monitor infants at all times. Their duties include monitoring vital signs, administering medications, and ensuring that the babies are breathing and growing properly. Usually, neonatal nurses work with a team of other nurses and medical professionals to provide the best possible care to these sick and premature infants.<\/p>\n

How Can I Become a Neonatal Nurse?<\/h2>\n

As with any nursing specialty, an RN degree is required to be a neonatal nurse. This degree requires either two years of schooling for an Associate\u2019s degree or four years for a Bachelor\u2019s. Either way, prospective neonatal nurses must pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, or the NCLEX-RN. Neonatal nurses must also obtain a certification in neonatal nursing, which requires two years, or 500 hours, of professional experience as an RN before being eligible to take the certification exam. Once they obtain this certification, a nurse is ready for a position in the neonatal specialty.<\/p>\n

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Neonatal Nurse Salary and Job Outlook<\/h2>\n

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a>, the median annual wage for a neonatal nurse was $70,000 as of May 2017. Typically, the more education and certifications a nurse has, the higher their pay will be. In addition, the BLS predicts the demand for nurses to increase by 15 percent by 2026, which is much faster than average. In other words, the job outlook for these nurses is promising.<\/p>\n

A Tribute to Neonatal Nurses<\/h2>\n

What is a neonatal nurse? Neonatal nurses play a vital role in an infant\u2019s life, as well as their family\u2019s. Sometimes, neonatal nurses even maintain communication with infants and families that they\u2019ve treated throughout their whole lives. Needless to say, neonatal nurses make a huge difference in the lives of many. In the words of the NANN<\/a>, neonatal nurses are \u201cthe voice of the smallest and sickest patients who don\u2019t have one of their own.\u201d It takes a compassionate, hardworking individual to be a neonatal nurse, and these nurses deserve a big \u201cthank you,\u201d especially during Nurses Week.<\/p>\n

Do you know any neonatal nurses out there? Maybe you\u2019re even one yourself. Whatever the case may be, make sure to take a moment to appreciate these nurses this week. If you\u2019re looking for a travel position as a neonatal nurse, head on over to TravelNurseSource.com<\/a> and browse our current openings<\/a>. From all of us at TravelNurseSource, have a great Nurses Week, and thank you!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Happy Nurses Week! Here at TravelNurseSource.com, we thought it would be a good idea to honor nurses by shedding some light on a number of unique, popular nursing specialties, like neonatal nursing. Whether you\u2019re fresh out of nursing school or an experienced nurse looking for a change in specialty, neonatal nursing is definitely worth considering! […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[465],"tags":[957,955,956,954],"class_list":["post-5409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-nurses-week","tag-how-to-become-a-neonatal-nurse","tag-neonatal-nurse-salary","tag-what-does-a-neonatal-nurse-do","tag-what-is-a-neonatal-nurse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5409"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5421,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5409\/revisions\/5421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}