The Shadow
Nurses care for patients from all walks of life; from elderly senior citizens to newborn babies. Neonatal intensive care nurses, often referred to as NICU nurses or neonatal nurses, dedicate their professional lives to caring for the most delicate and vulnerable patients, including infants who are born prematurely or with serious illnesses.
What is the NICU?
The first neonatal intensive care unit in the United States was established at the Yale-New Haven hospital in 1960. Since then, NICUs have opened in medical centers around the country. Within those centers, NICU nurses are part of multidisciplinary teams that care for infants during the earliest days of life. The National Association of Neonatal Nurses says there are approximately 40,000 low-birth-weight infants born each year. Thanks to advances in medicine and the care of NICU nurses, the survival rates of vulnerable infants are now 10 times higher than they were in years past.
Working in an NICU
Working in an NICU presents new challenges every day. NICU nurses may cuddle small patients, administer medications and comfort parents when they receive heartbreaking news. NICU nurses spend a lot of their time monitoring and assessing vital signs of their patients. They administer intravenous fluids and other treatments prescribed by physicians. NICU nurses often must administer specialized feeding and oxygen therapies. NICU nurses also perform the important task of ensuring support equipment, such as ventilators and incubators, is operating properly.
Becoming an NICU nurse
The nursing program resource Nurse Journal notes that there are certain requirements to join the ranks of NICU professionals.
Education: NICU nurses follow a similar path as other registered nurses. One can pursue an associate degree in nursing or a bachelor of science in nursing.
Licensure: Nursing students must complete the appropriate testing and schooling to receive RN licensure.
General pediatrics training: Many nurses who hope to work in an NICU start out in a general pediatrics ward before ultimately working in an NICU. Some hospitals offer new graduate residency in neonatal nursing, which is a key way for new nursing graduates to gain experience and important education while also earning a living.
Certification: Nurses can pursue various certifications in neonatal care. Nurses interested in NICU certification have career-specific options through the National Certification Corporation and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, among other organizations. Other helpful certifications include Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiovascular Support and Neonatal Resuscitation Program.
Job growth and security
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that positions for registered nurses will grow by 15 percent between 2016 and 2026. The demand for NICU nurses should increase at a similar pace considering the steady growth of the population and the rate of infants being admitted to NICUs. Neonatal intensive care nurses are hardworking individuals. They care for very young and fragile patients, and do their best to ensure infants ultimately live long, healthy lives.
