Neonatal Nurse – Career and Education Profile – Career and Education Profile

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Neonatal nurses work with newborns and brand new parents to ensure that the entire family is happy and healthy.

Job Responsibilities

As a neonatal nurse, your job duties will depend on your employer and education level. You could assist with delivery and help new mothers (and fathers) during the first dew days of having a baby (similar to a certified nurse midwife) . However, many neonatal nurses work in intensive care units, working with newborns who were born prematurely or with other complications. In this role, you’ll support a medical team in helping to monitor unhealthy babies, treating any medical conditions they may have and encouraging healthy growth. You may also be involved with communications, keeping the family members updated with the newborn’s condition, and many neonatal nurses take an educator role, helping parents learn about home care for a baby with special needs.

Salary and Career Options

As a neonatal nurse, you can expect to earn $50,000 to $60,000 annually. Many neonatal nurses enter into this career field through first working in another infant- or child-related nursing field, or by gaining adult critical care nursing experience. Because this is a field where extra care is needed, neonatal intensive care units most commonly hire RNs rather than LPNs, and you can increase you chances of finding a high-paying job by going back to school to become an advanced practice nurse.

Educational Requirements

To work as an RN, you need at least an associate’s degree in the field, but by getting a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree, you can take classes specialized for working with infants. While you don’t need any special additional certification after you become a licensed RN to work in a neonatal intensive care unit, the American Association of Critical Care Nursing does offer certification in critical care, which you can pursue after you have some experience in the field.

LPN to RN College Programs

While several schools have online nursing degrees available, few offer LPN to RN programs. What's the good news? We have listed some accredited schools below that do offer the program in addition to schools with other bridge programs available. Find out more information and contact each school by using any of the links below.

Indiana State University—Indiana State University offers a robust online program designed for LPNs wanting to become registered nurses and earn their BSN degree. Since ISU's credits transfer to over 80 campus majors, this is an ideal program for people wanting to open opportunities for their career down the road.

The College Network—The College Network is a partnership with several universities and organizations like the National League for Nursing that focuses on online education and programs, with several courses for nurses or those interested in a nursing career. Specifically, TCN helps students prepare for their PN and RN licensures and move on to earn graduate degrees.

Other Nursing Degrees

Walden University—Walden University is typically a graduate school with several masters and doctoral programs available, but they do have BSN and RN to MSN bridge programs available. Walden is based out of Minneapolis and offers several options in transferring your previously earned credits to and from (or even within) the school.

Kaplan University—Kaplan University is one of the nation's largest and leading online educators and offers several bridge programs for registered nurses to earn their BSN or MSN degree. If you have previously earned credits, Kaplan makes it easy for you to transfer to any one of their undergraduate or graduate programs.

Herzing University—While Herzing University does not offer an undergraduate nursing degree, it is a great choice for working nurses wanting to pursue leadership positions in Nurse Education or Management. With over 10 campuses and 45 online programs available, Herzing has a massive network that makes it easy to transfer to or from the school.

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