Neonatal nursing as a defined specialty is relatively new to the nursing world. As it is defined today it has been around since the 1960s. The neonatal period refers to the baby’s first twenty eight days of life. Neonatal nurseries are also known as infant intensive care units, or in current terminology neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).
Traditionally, there have been three levels of hospital nurseries. Level I, for healthy babies, basically does not exist anymore because healthy births result in extremely short hospital stays and the baby is usually with the mother. The Level II Nursery is an intermediate care or special care nursery where the baby may be born prematurely or may be suffering from an illness; these babies may need supplemental oxygen, intravenous therapy, specialized feedings, or more time to mature before discharge.
The Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is for all babies during the first 28 days of life who cannot be treated in either of the other two nursery levels. These babies may be small for their age, premature, or sick term infants who require high technology care such as ventilators or incubators, or have undergone surgery. Neonatal nurses provide the direct patient care to these infants.
Qualifying as a Neonatal Nurse
Entry level requirements for neonatal nurses are left to the individual institutions. Some hospital or medical centers may require one year of adult health or inpatient nursing while other units hire RNs after graduation from an accredited school or college of nursing who have passed the exam for licensure. In most schools, there is no special program for neonatal nursing in basic RN education. Some nursing programs have an elective course in neonatal nursing.
Nursing programs with advanced specialization components today often have a neonatal specialty. After a couple of years’ experience in a NICU as a registered nurse, you have the option of returning to school and becoming a neonatal nurse practitioner or a clinical nurse specialist in the field. Some schools offer master’s programs in pediatric nursing that provide the option of adolescent specialization, pediatrics or neonatal care.
The State University of New York has a curriculum for a master’s degree as a clinical nursing specialist with emphasis on neonatal nursing. Prerequisites for the program are a bachelor’s of science in nursing with a GPA of 3.0 or better. In addition, you must have an active nurse’s license; provide proof of insurance and letters of recommendation.
