Neonatal nurse Sara Morgan

Job Overview Neonatal nurses provide complete care for babies. They attend deliveries, weigh and measure infants, bathe them and monitor their health. They also teach new parents about newborn care and breastfeeding.

Interests in this career My auntie is a Neonatal nurse and she's lead her life to be very successful. I think it also fits my personality to be around kids and helping them.

Schooling You need to either go to a community college and get an Associate's degree in Nursing, or to a university and get a Bachelor's degree in Nursing. Then you take your state boards to get your RN. After that, you are able to work in a NICU - they will train you in neonatal care because you don't learn that in school It's your choice whether you get the 2-year Associate's degree or the 4-year Bachelor's, as both are accepted in the NICU. Registered Nurse License, 24 months and 2,000 hours of specialty experience as an RN and employment in the specialty within the 24 months preceding the certification exam.

Schooling/Costs On the high end of neonatal nursing tuition, private universities can charge as much as $1,000 per credit; on the low end, state universities charge about $200 per credit for residents and $500 per credit for nonresidents. For a 40-credit program, you could be spending anywhere from $8,000 to $40,000 on neonatal nursing tuition. For a 60-credit program, you might be paying $12,000 to $60,000

Salary/Future Outlook Registered Nurse (RN) $50,655 Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NP) $79,265 Nurse Practitioner (NP) $65,244   Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) $73,396  

Salary/Future Outlook Entry Level Neonatal nurse practitioners with less than one year of work experience earned an average salary of $49,296 to $68,784. One to Four Years of Employment Neonatal nurse practitioners with one to four years of work experience in the field earned annual salaries of $61,674 to $81,827 Five to Nine Years of Employment The average salary range for neonatal nurse practitioners with five to nine years of experience was $67,520 to $84,570 in 10 to 19 Years of Employment The income of neonatal nurse practitioners with 10 to 19 years of experience in the field was $80,901 to $104,313 Most Experienced Once neonatal nurse practitioners achieved 20 years of work experience or more, their maximum average salary increased to $111,831. Employer Type The highest paying employers of neonatal nurse practitioners were private practices, where nurses earned average maximum salaries of $108,283, while hospitals were the lowest paying employers with salaries of $93,526.

Working Conditions/Hazards Nurses may spend considerable time walking and standing. Patients in hospitals and nursing care facilities require 24-hour care, nurses in these institutions may work nights, weekends, and holidays. RNs also may be on call – available to work on short notice Individuals with infectious diseases give out risks to other nurses. Nurses must observe rigid standardized guidelines to guard against disease and other dangers, such as those posed by radiation, accidental needle sticks, chemicals used to sterilize instruments, and anesthetics. In addition, they are vulnerable to back injury when moving patients, shocks from electrical equipment, and hazards posed by compressed gases.

Related Occupations Emergency Room—A fast paced day filled with a little bit of everything Flight Nursing—Transport of sick patients to larger hospitals and traumas. Neurology Nurse—Recovering strokes and brain injuries.

Resources/Citations http://www.become-a-nurse-now.com/types-of-nurses.html http://answers.yahoo.com/;_ylt=AvP40gMTbQ2152kvVN_cv2.e.Bd.;_ylv=3?link=recent