The Job Outlook for Neonatal Nurse? Is caring and looking after infants and expanding significantly because each and every county tries to protect its infants. Day by day nursing jobs are growing higher and higher. Among the nursing specializations, neonatal nursing is caring and looking after infants. According to the studies, the number of vacancies for neonatal nursing is expanding significantly because each and every county tries to protect its infants.
Job Outlook for Neonatal Nurse
Neonatal nursing is a nursing specialty where these nurses care for infants having serious health conditions like birth defects, cardiac malformations, and premature babies. Maternity wards and neonatal intensive care units will be the workplace of these neonatal nurses. Although these nurses are bound to care for the neonates, normally they provide their care to babies who need special care, up to two years.
Who are neonates?
The very first four weeks of the newborn baby’s life is considered the neonatal period. The newborn babies under four weeks of age are considered neonates.
Why the neonatal period is important?
This is a crucial period for a baby, where the infant death rate is highest at this period. About 2.6 billion neonates will die during their first 4 weeks every year. As the baby is a newcomer to this environment he/she will face so many challenges within this period. Premature births, birth defects, infections, and birth complications are the main reasons for neonatal morbidity. Therefore these newcomers need special care during their adaptation period. Neonatal nurses are to care for and to look after these babies.
According to the United States Bureau of labor statistics, there is a 22% growth in neonatal job opportunities between 2010 – 2020. Furthermore, this will grow to a higher percentage.
Why the demand for neonatal nurses grow?
Babies born before 37 weeks are considered premature babies. The development of technology and maternal factors have affected an increase in premature births. Smoking, illicit drug usage, Poor nutrition during the pregnancy, consuming alcohol, Urinary tract infections, and amniotic fluid infections are the reasons to increase the incidence of premature deliveries. Genetic mutations due to environmental factors, exposure to radiation, and usage of certain drugs such as methotrexate will cause birth defects in babies. The use of alcohol, smoking, rubella infections during the pregnancy period increases the risk of cardiac anomalies. As a result, there is an increased incidence of premature babies, birth defects, and cardiac anomalies. Due to this increase in incidences, more job opportunities have opened for neonatal nurses.
Qualifications to be a neonate nurse
After completing your bachelor’s of science in nursing or associate’s degree in nursing you can become a registered nurse. Then you have to take the NECLEX-RN exam and get through it. After completing the above requirements you can select your path as a neonatal nurse.
You have three main opportunities as a neonatal nurse. The following are the neonatal nurse work environments.
- Staff nurse – As a staff nurse in neonatal care you will gain the chance to assist premature deliveries, management of babies under ventilation, intravenous drug administration, observing and reporting the complications, early diagnosis, helping the mother in breastfeeding, and care for the neonates.
- Clinical nurse specialist – As a clinical nurse specialist you are responsible for educating and training the nursing staff about neonatal care and you can directly provide care for newborn babies if necessary.
- Nurse Manager – you are the man who manages the maternity word or the neonatal intensive care unit. Managing the environment, duty delegation, maintain inventory will be some of your duties.
Is a neonatal nurse a good job?
Being a neonatal nurse, you can save the lives of newborn babies and you can help their families in caring for their new babies. On the other hand, these newly born babies will be the next generation of this world. So you can assist the next generation and you can support to provide a healthy citizen to this world.
also read: Nurse practitioner vs. nurse anesthetist
