American’s Got Nurses Interview Article – Neonatal Nurse

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What Special Qualifications are needed to become a Neonatal Nurse?

Neonatal nurses are nurse practitioners and are required by law to pass the appropriate state board of licensure in any state they practice. Along with becoming a registered nurse, a Masters in Nursing is mandatory. In some states, there may be additional conditions to satisfy in order to receive their licensing as a neonatal nurse. Neonatal resuscitation (NRP) is essential, as are BLS and EEG interpretation. A neonatal nurse must have excellent critical care skills, be a good communicator and able to provide emotional support and relevant information to the parents and their families.

How Difficult is it to Work in Neonatal Care?

Neonatal care is a very challenging field. These tiny patients can’t tell you where they hurt, what they want, how they can be made more comfortable. They must be monitored intensively. You must be sensitive to every change in their condition and behavior, as even the smallest change can be clinically significant. Accurate medication calculations are extremely crucial and you must be very comfortable and proficient at starting IV’s within such tiny bodies. It sounds a bit frightening, but after awhile a neonatal nurse develops an instinct for every aspect of the patient’s needs and how well the baby is progressing toward stability.

What are the Greatest Challenges of a Neonatal Nurse?

Neonatal nurses are out there to buck the norm. There is still a prevalent attitude that neonatal care is only prolonging the inevitable in premature or unhealthy newborn babies, or that they won’t be able to live a normal, healthy life-style. The truth is, these babies want to live. Everyday you see them struggling for survival. You will see infants growing stronger and healthier.

The incidence of premature births is on the rise. According to CBSNews.com, “One in eight babies is now born at least three weeks early, many even earlier, a rate that has increased more than 30 percent in two decades.”

Nobody really knows why the incident rate has increased. Premature birth is now the leading cause of newborn deaths and the major cause of long-term disabilities. Some factors include the use of fertility drugs that increase the chances of multiple births, which often result in premature delivery, as well as an increase in “silent” bacteria and virus infections, smoking obesity and drug addiction, but the causes of premature births in healthy women have never been fully determined.

Is There any Advice for Those Interested in Becoming a Neonatal Nurse?

In you can get a preceptorship, expose yourself to the work environment for at least a few days. If you are already working in ER or ICU, you can get into the float pool at your facility. Your training in emergency medical care will not only prepare you to be quick and efficient in decision-making, it will help you become a good communicator with the families of the patient. Most parents are terrified when their baby is born prematurely or born with a medical condition. Part of your job is to reassure them and make them feel more at ease with the unexpected setting. You’ll need to be able to explain to them what you are doing, why the room looks the way it does and give a progress report on the infant they can understand.

Your work isn’t truly something you leave behind when you go out the door. You become completely absorbed in the well-being of the infants in your care. This is normal, so don’t believe you need to develop a thick shell. Babies thrive better when you are compassionate, caring and tender. There is a spiritual quality to your work. Sometimes, you can’t save them. You must accept this and believe that when you lose one, the baby has been relieved of pain and suffering and has gone on to a gentler place.