Report writing
Running head: NEONATAL REGISTERED NURSE PROFESSION 1
Future Profession: Neonatal Registered Nurse
Student Name
North Lake Community College
NEONATAL REGISTERED NURSE PROFESSION 2
Abstract
Neonatal Nursing is a career based off of devotion, strength, care and love. Working in a
career where they constantly see babies fighting for their lives is a hard job for anyone. The thing
about this career is they have to have strength for the babies not for themselves. The job is worth
every second of everyday because knowing you are the reason a baby has the chance at living is
most likely a great feeling. These nurses go through a tough course of nursing school for a reason
and its because how serious the job is. The experience of working in the NICU is definitely a
challenge for first time nurses but after having a year long or two years of experience it will
become slightly easier which is probably why hospitals require experienced workers. The history
behind how neonatal care came about shows how constantly working at an issue will eventually
turn out for the better is beautiful. Many years have passed and look how far Neonatal care has
come. Day by day technology becomes more advanced and it’s the reason little babies are given
the chance at life.
NEONATAL REGISTERED NURSE PROFESSION 3
Future Profession: Neonatal Registered Nurse
The neonatal registered nurse profession is such an important specialty because it
specializes in newborn babies that are born premature or with birth defects. This is a field not
many people go into because of the challenges that come with the career. These nurses have to
witness the struggle that the newborn babies have to go through when fighting for their lives and
it is tough to witness something devastating like that. In order to work in a field this unique and
serious there are a few educational requirements and expectations the hospital will have before
offering anyone the job.
Neonatal Nurse Description
Being a neonatal nurse is more than just taking care of beautiful newborn babies. There is
a lot more that comes with this specific specialty. According to ‘Nursing Licensure’, “neonatal
nurses work with infants who have born with conditions that require substantial medical care.
Often they are premature; they may have been born with some body systems not yet fully
developed.” These are babies that need constant care and attention because they are more fragile
than a healthy newborn baby.
Every single day a child is born, some healthy and some are not as lucky. According to
‘National Association of Neonatal Nurses’,” approximately 40,000 low-birth-weight infants are
born annually in the United States. Because of significant medical advances and the efforts of
physicians and nurses who provide for very vulnerable babies, survival rates are 10 times better
now than they were 15 years ago.” Neonatal nurses have a lot to do with helping the babies get to
better stages of health and over the years they have learned how to achieve the goal more
efficiently.
NEONATAL REGISTERED NURSE PROFESSION 4
Education and Experience
The most important step that leads people to the careers they want to accomplish at being
apart of will be education. The education that is gained will play such an important role at being
able to have a greater chance at getting the position. There will be a couple of requirements from
the hospital. These requirements are taken seriously because the career revolves around babies.
The recruiter will look into what education and experience the applicant has obtained and decide
if the applicant meets the requirements for the position.
There are requirements that Parkland Hospital has listed on their website for the position
of a Neonatal Nurse. According to ‘Parkland Hospital Careers’, “You must be a graduate from
an accredited school of nursing. You must have experience in the neonatal intensive care. You
must have your RN license as well as your CPR certification and they may require a few other
specialty certifications. There will be a Dosage Exam that must be passed with and 85% or
above. There will also be two more exams that must be passed with an 80% or above as well.”
Completing these few requirements will help by giving you a better chance at getting the job.
These are not all of the requirements but just some of the most important ones.
Expectations
When first starting a career it maybe scary and exciting to not know what to expect but
the good thing is the experience that is required before getting the job, helps let the future
employee know what they will be walking into. When completing the internship and clinical it
provides the hands-on feeling of what it would be like working in that type of atmosphere. Many
people need to know what it is like to work in their choice of career to know if it is really for
them.
NEONATAL REGISTERED NURSE PROFESSION 5
Working as a nurse can be different for everyone especially because there are several
different types of nurses. Depending on the specialty a nurse acquires, will determine their
responsibilities and duties. According to ‘National Association of Neonatal Nurses’, “You can
expect to work with as many as four infants at a time, though that ratio varies depending on how
ill patients are.” When working as a neonatal nurse most of the nurses are in the NICU because
most of their patients are ill and have to be watched very carefully. Some patients are extremely
ill to the point that they get assigned two nurses.
History behind Neonatal Nursing
There is always a rough beginning to something incredible. When the start of neonatal
nursing first came about it had a rough start. According to ‘Care of Premature Infants’, “During
the early decades of the 1900s, a few American hospitals established short-lived premature infant
stations.” This was the start of American hospitals focusing on premature babies and wanting to
decrease the number of deaths. Of course, it took a long time for them to finally actually devote
themselves to actually want to help these sick babies. According to ‘Care of Premature Infants’,
“By the late 1990s, neonatal intensive care was available for babies in almost every area of the
country. Specialist and sub-specialist pediatricians, pediatric nurses, respiratory therapists, social
workers, physical and occupational therapists, nutritionists, and a host of others responded to the
needs of babies and the demands of their parents and the public.” It practically took doctors and
nurses almost an entire century to finally realize how important it was to help these newborn
premature babies fight for their lives. Also overtime science and technology had became more
advance which helped keep the preemies warm and helped take care of them correctly.
NEONATAL REGISTERED NURSE PROFESSION 6
References
Care of Premature Infants. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2019, from
https://www.nursing.upenn.edu/nhhc/nurses-institutions-caring/care-of-premature-
infants/.
Registered Nurse II - NNICU. (n.d.). Retrieved October 5, 2019, from
https://www.parklandcareers.com/job/Dallas-Registered-Nurse-II-NNICU-TX-
75201/593594000/.
The Neonatal Nurse. (2013). Retrieved October 2019, from
https://www.nursinglicensure.org/articles/neonatal-nurse.html.
What is Neonatal Nursing. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2019, from http://nann.org/professional-
development/what-is-neonatal-nursing.