Thinking of going to school to be a Neonatal Nurse need help!!!!

[Mandy05]

Hi everyone I need a bit of advice on what route to take to be a Neonatal Nurse. I want to work with the babies that are just born which is the Level 1 or Level 2 Neonatal I guess (the healthy babies not the Level 3). I'm trying to find out what the nurse is called that takes the baby right after birth and cleans the baby, gives shots, check ups and weighs them etc.(whatever that is that's what I want to do); I'm also interested in mommy/baby care as well. So I need a clarification on what I want to do, whether everything I'm describing is the same thing or if each job has different names.

As far as schooling, I wanted to know if I could go to school for two years and get my ADN and start working with babies right away so I can already start getting the experience, then continue schooling to get my BSN so the hospital I work at will pay for my education. I also wanted to get some advice for schooling because I hear how hard the schooling is, so any advice or tips on schooling would be nice. If I can't work with babies with an ADN, I was going to go to a community college and take my prerequisites; then transfer to a nursing school to finish my nursing degree.

My second option besides Nursing would be Ultrasound Technician specializing in OB. If anyone knows any helpful information on Ultrasound Tech's please let me know, I think that the schooling isn't as long as hard as Nursing. Thanks for any advice and helP!

[llg, PhD, RN]

The kind of job that you are envisioning is very hard to find because there aren't that many of them and they are so popular that there is a lot of competition for them. You are seeking a staff nurse job in a Normal Newborn Nursery, Intermediate Nursery (Level II), or on a Mother/Baby unit. Because such jobs are so popular, you may not be able to get such a job with only an ADN and/or with no experience.

If you are limited as to where you want to work (in a specific town or region), I suggest you do a little research on the hiring requirements of those hospitals. Do they routinely hire new graduates into such positions? Do they hire a lot of ADN's or do they prefer to hire BSN's? etc. That varies from place to place and you need to know what the situation is for YOUR area, not mine.

Assuming that you'll be facing lots of competition for such a job regardless of your educational choice, you may want to look into opportunities to work in such an area while you are in school -- as a volunteer, nursing assistant, secretary, housekeeper, etc. Anything you can do to get yourself known, liked, and respected by the people doing the hiring would be beneficial. Getting to know such people would also give you the chance to ask questions that would help you make realistic plans and decisions about your career.

Good luck to you.

[Mandy05]

Thanks for your response it was very helpful. Do you have any knowledge about Ultrasound Tech, that's my next best choice besides Nursing. If Level I and II Neonatal is very competitive then I don't want to waste my time in schooling and can't get a job.

[studentx16]

I am a current Ultrasound student(2nd year), I'm in the same boat as you. I wanted to be a neonatologist, but 16 years is a lot of schooling and happy I found out about the neonatal nurse which is basically the same thing. So what I am doing is finishing my degree and going for the neonatal nurse so i have 2 options and 2 degrees.

ULTRASOUND IS VERY VERY HARD,TIME CONSUMING, AND WILL MAKE YOU QUESTION YOURSELF!

you will never truly understand everything about ultrasound, it's always a challenge and you'll even see new things! and trust me if you are unsure of this or maybe dont "love it" then it's not the right career for you..because you will end up quitting due to that. I came into this program to do OBGYN because i love working with babies, I job shadowed in high school at both maternity and ultrasound. Both great places!

Level 1, you won't find many jobs (only luck will help you here basically)

you need to do level 2 or 3...there are schools that you can do this in 2years.

there's also a neonatal nurse practitioner almost the same thing, paid more..may have more available jobs!

& final note: RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH! be happy with your decision!