What are the quilafacations in becoming a neonatal nurse?

Neonatal nurses are registered nurses who care for newborns and premature infants in their first 28 days of life. They must meet the basic qualifications for becoming an RN, in addition to gaining experience working with infants and earning advanced certification. They usually work in hospital neonatal units, where they provide basic care for healthy babies and intensive care for those born prematurely or with complications.

Levels of Neonatal Nursing
There are three levels of neonatal nursing. A Level I neonatal nursery offers care to healthy newborns. This level, however, has largely been phased out, notes the Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow website, because mothers and their babies have shorter hospital stays than in years past and usually share the same room. A Level II nursery houses infants born prematurely or with an illness. Neonatal nurses working in these units may provide oxygen, intravenous therapy or specialized feedings. A Level III neonatal unit is commonly called a neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, and provides care to infants who are premature, severely ill or too small. Infants admitted to a NICU may require ventilators, incubators or surgery.

Education Requirements
All neonatal nurses must first qualify as registered nurses, which can be earned through an associate's degree at a two-year university or a bachelor's degree at a four-year university. Some hospitals accept applicants with an associate's degree while others only hire nurses with a bachelor's degree. While there's no degree program specifically for neonatal nursing, nursing students can take elective courses in neonatal nursing. Neonatal nurses must also pass their state board of nursing exam, called the National Council Licensure Exam, or NCLEX.

Experience
Experience requirements vary among hospitals, with Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow noting that some require neonatal nurses to have at least one year of adult health care experience before working with infants. Others, however, hire recent graduates provided they have passed their state's licensing exam. The higher the level of care offered, the more experience and specialized skills neonatal nurses must have. A Level III nursery, for example, provides intensive care and nurses in these units need significantly more experience than those caring for healthy babies.

Skills
Neonatal nurses work with some of the most high-risk patients in a hospital. Neonatal nurses must be prepared to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation and IV therapy and must be able to work with specialized equipment such as ventilators and incubators. They also need an in-depth understanding of the medications commonly used in treating infants and newborns.

Advanced Education and Certification
Continuing education requirements for neonatal nurses vary by state, with the state nursing board determining how many hours nurses must complete every two to three years to maintain their nursing licenses. After gaining neonatal nursing experience, nurses can earn a graduate nursing degree specializing in neonatal care. Ohio State University offers a master's degree program for neonatal nurse practitioners and requires candidates have at least one year of full-time experience working in a neonatal intensive care unit before beginning the clinical courses.

To become a neonatal nurse, you have to have a BSN then go onto apply for a job in their neonatal floor. Working with the neonatal population is a speciality so they usually prefer someone with experience or someone from their own hospital. Another way to get in is to participate in a graduate nursing internship program in the hospital's neonatal floor. Goodluck on your future career advancement