Thinking about neonatal intensive care nursing?
Neonatal intensive care nursing is another area of pediatric nursing.
Neonatal nurses work with infants that are generally admitted during the neonatal period. The neonatal period is an infant during the first 28 days of life.
Neonatal intensive care units (NICU) are generally separated into level 2 and level 3 nurseries.
All hospitals that have a labor and delivery are will have at least a normal newborn nursery. Some will also have a level 2 nursery and some will have all 3 levels of newborn care.
Children's hospitals generally have large NICU's. They receive sick infants from the smaller hospitals on a regular basis.
The infants cared for in the NICU include:
- preamture infants that may have a wide range of diagnoses
- neonates born with a variety of medical problems from mild respiratory distress to complex congenital heart disease and many others
As with most nursing specialties, it takes a special nurse to care for these special babies and their families.
Neonatal nurses may pursue certification when they have met the qualifications outlined in the certification process. After passing the certification exam and receiving your
certification your skills and knowledge for this specialty will be known by your employer and your coworkers.
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