Are RRT's NRP certified?

[DST2RN]

Is NRP certification just a nurse cert. I know not all the rt's at my hospital can work NICU/LnD I know they have to be trained,qualified and signed off by the Nicu M.D. chief of staff. Our RT's also have to be present at any delivery if the doctor can't make it in time even if the baby is healthy and mom is doing good why is this ?

[Jolie, BSN]

Is NRP certification just a nurse cert. I know not all the rt's at my hospital can work NICU/LnD I know they have to be trained,qualified and signed off by the Nicu M.D. chief of staff. Our RT's also have to be present at any delivery if the doctor can't make it in time even if the baby is healthy and mom is doing good why is this ?

RTs can take the NRP course and become certified, just as nurses do. Some hospitals require RTs to attend deliveries in the absence of an MD/DO/NNP so that there is a person capable of intubation present, even if no problems are anticipated. Are the RTs who attend deliveries capable of neonatal intubation?

It is the accepted standard of care that there be 2 people present at every delivery capable of carrying out a full neonatal resuscitation, at least one who can intubate a newborn.

[DST2RN]

Yes, all of the RT's in the nicu which also handles Lnd can intubate they can not work alone or be primary until the Doctor signs them off on intubation and other certain neonatal functions, they can only respond as a back up RT to calls until signed off by the DR. Are Nicu as 3 RT's and if theres a 4th it's usually someone from the adult side in training for neonatal.

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

Moved to NICU Forum. Carry on!

[Mimi2RN, ASN, RN]

Our RT's have NALS and PALS, as they cover both units and go to deliveries.

[Sweeper933]

Our RTs are NICU trained and work solely on our unit. They have to keep up their CPR/NRP certifications along w/ the rest of us RNs. We always have at least 2 RTs on our unit at all times, depending on how busy we are. They almost never go down to codes w/ us, as we always have at least 1 doc on the unit at all times.

[SteveNNP, MSN, NP]

We have 3 RRT's each shift that are all required to have NRP & PALS, as one of them also covers peds/PICU. MD's rarely attend deliveries with us, it's usually just a NRP certified RN and RRT. No problems with this system.....

[BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN]

Ours are certified in both also.

[DST2RN]

Ours are certified in both also.

Is NRP/PALS given during the two year RT course or is it something one usually picks up outside the program via another route of training or class?

[ECMOismygame]

Is NRP/PALS given during the two year RT course or is it something one usually picks up outside the program via another route of training or class?

they should be included. i started my BS RT program this past fall.

i am getting ACLS this semester. (taught by the paramedic faculty)

next fall i am getting PALS and NRP as part of our peds and neo rotations.

as a RRT getting your NPS (Neonatal/Pediatric Specialist) would also be a big plus in order to work in PICU and NICU. some hospitals pay a diff for NPS. (NPS can only be attained after gettin your RRT)

good luck

[BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN]

Most of our RT's had the training at the hospital, so I think it depends on the program. Our's don't get paid differently, they rotate in and out of peds and adults.

[Gompers, BSN, RN]

Our NICU-based RT's are NRP certified just like the nurses and docs. They have more certifications than we do, even - they also get ACLS and PALS because they float to other parts of the hospital sometimes and can be put on the code team or ER duty.

We also have some RT's that float to the NICU who are adult or peds-based, but they aren't NRP certified so they are not allowed to go to deliveries or do NICU transports.