Neonatal Nursing free essay sample

Without neonatal care millions of pre-term infants would not have a fighting chance. Although the schooling and training to become a neonatal nurse can be extensive, it doesn’t have to be. Due to the need for neonatal clinicians many people would choose it for the chance to save an infant’s life, the income or because they just simply want to help. First, the job of a neonatal nurse is extremely important to a pre-term baby’s life. There are many problems that can be wrong with a pre-term baby. According to CFNC. com â€Å"A neonatal nurse may take care of a baby with multiple problems including drug-addicted babies and premature babies†. There are other factors putting a baby in the NICU for neonatal nurses to care for, such as HIV-positive babies and babies born with respiratory distress. They may also care for babies who are weak and fragile or need 24-hour nursing. We will write a custom essay sample on Neonatal Nursing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Neonatal nurses have to monitor the babies closely and give special care immediately after birth. Neonatal nurses may also attend deliveries. Found on Payscale. com â€Å"Some nurses attend all deliveries and assist as well by hooking up laboring patients to monitors, starting IV’s, assisting with getting patients ready for C-sections, and assisting with general patient care. They may need to manage ventilators, evaluate vital signs, draw blood, and maintain IV lines. All of these tasks are important for a healthy delivery. All in all a neonatal nurses care is essential to the life of a pre-term baby. Second, there are multiple reasons why a baby would need to be put into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The NICU is a special care unit for pre-term and sick babies. There are maternal factors, delivery factors, and baby factors that would put a baby in the NICU. Some of the maternal factors are ages younger than sixteen years old, older than 40 years, multiple pregnancies, or too little or too much amniotic fluid. The delivery factors are â€Å"fetal distress, nuchal cord† (lpch. org). A nuchal cord is when the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck when they are born. This could be fatal to a baby’s life if a doctor cannot cut the cord without hurting the baby. The baby factors that may put them in a NICU are â€Å"less than 37 weeks or over 42 weeks† ( lpch. org). Other factors that may put babies in the NICU are less than five pounds eight ounces or over eight pounds eleven ounces, infection, hypoglycemia, and the need for extra oxygen. The mother could prevent some of these factors from occurring with making sure she takes care of herself while she is pregnant. In conclusion, there are many different factors that could put a baby into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, thankfully there are many neonatal nurses to help care for the pre-term babies in need. Third, there are three different levels of nurseries for different needs of pre-term babies. In addition, the fourth level is preparing them for discharge. Level one takes care of babies with the problems of â€Å"continuous monitoring for heart rate or breathing, additional oxygen, tube feeding, recovery† (bliss. org). Level one is not for babies who need continuous care for an extensive amount of time. Level one is only for babies who need care for a short amount of time such as a month or less. Level two of the nurseries takes care of babies with more needs or more difficulties â€Å"short term care, apnoeic attacks, continuous airway pressure, and receiving parental nutrition† (bliss. org). The babies in level two of the neonatal intensive care unit need more care than level one but less than level three. This unit specializes in keeping babies that need less help for an elongated amount of time. Now finally, level three takes care of babies that need a lot of attention and care such as â€Å"ventilation, weight is less than 1,000 grams, age is less than 28 weeks in the mother’s stomach, and surgery (bliss. org). This level is the most important, it can be the stage of life and death for a pre-term baby. This level keeps babies for a very extensive amount of time such as one month to as long as a year depending on the condition of the baby. The fourth level or the transitional level means the baby still needs care but is almost ready to go home. But most importantly the mother can now become the main care with support from a nursery nurse or other nursing staff in the fourth unit. All in all the three levels of nurseries give neonatal nurses the option in which level to work in and the fourth is helpful for mothers to learn about the care and needs of their pre-term babies. Fourth, neonatal nurses do not need much schooling. However, they can make it longer, achieve a higher degree, and ultimately increase their income. The first step to becoming a neonatal nurse after high school is becoming a RN or Registered Nurse that could take from two years to three years depending on the school a nurse would choose to attend. If they want to increase their degree, they would become a RN with a BSN, Bachelors in Nursing, which might take four to five years of schooling which again depends on the school they plan to attend and knowledge of the career. If they still are interested in an even higher degree, they would want to become an Advanced Practice Nurse that may take six or more years to complete which as always will depend on the years of schooling and the school they choose to attend. Most employers require a Bachelor of Science in nursing to work for them, but others only ask for two to three years of schooling. According to the Education Portal â€Å"students must also complete courses in math, science, statistics, microbiology, anatomy, and physiology. † The more schooling someone participates in the more income and better job they will acquire. Taking advanced classes will also increase the chances of a superior job. Also according to the Education Portal, â€Å"the U. S. Bureau of Labor, all of the states require graduation from a NLNAC-accredited program to become a licensed nurse. † In addition to the classes required a student would as well have to graduate from a NLNAC-accredited program. Since it is required it would be tough to also seize advanced classes. In conclusion, neonatal nurses have multiple options with how many years of schooling they take, but going to school longer will make neonatal nursing an improved career. Fifth, neonatal nurses have a high income. The income for neonatal nurses differs throughout the United States. According to Work. Chron. com â€Å"location is a key factor influencing salary for neonatal nurses. † For example, in California the median salary someone may make is around $105,000. That is the highest amount in the United States for averages. In Delaware, however, a neonatal nurse could make as high as $123,000 or as little as $88,451. Found on Indeed. com, â€Å"The average for the United States comes out to be $95,000-$106,000. † However, neonatal nurses can make more income depending on their time spent in school. The longer a nurse attends college and the higher degrees they achieve and obtain the more income they will make. In conclusion, neonatal nurses have the option of getting more income or less depending on their schooling, knowledge in the career of nursing, and location in which they are working out of. All in all the job of a neonatal nurse is very demanding and difficult in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for the nurse and also the patients admitted into it. Although the job is difficult with all the schooling it can also be a high income job and a great job for nurses who love to works with babies in need.