Neonatal NP question

[stortsj1]

Hi! I'm currently a nurse student but I would really like to be a nurse practitioner in the future and I'm trying to figure out which kind I would like to be.. I was just wondering what a typical day of a neonatal nurse practitioner is like. I've read articles and stuff but I would love to hear it from a real Neonatal NP. Also, I have had people tell me that it would be way to hard to see sick babies, but doesn't knowing that you're saving some help when you might lose one? Obviously it would be difficult but even if you just save one, you're still helping right? Thanks in advance.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Moved to student NP forum

[A&OxNone, MSN, RN]

My advice for you is to get some experience and see if you like it (and can handle it) as a nurse. If your goal is to work in the NICU as an NP, you should work in one to see if you like the environment and you can see what the NPs in that area do.

It is difficult - I haven't done NICU but I have done PICU, and I can honestly say that saving some children doesn't mean it's "easier" when others die. Its still difficult no matter what. Every story is different. You just have to figure out if you can do it. And I will say, there is honestly NOTHING wrong with you if you can't. My best friend started in the PICU shortly after I did and went into complete depression mode. She couldn't take the sad stories all the time and had to make a change. And that's okay. General pediatrics was a much better fit for her and I don't think any less of her as a person or nurse.

I will also say that most specialty NP programs require a certain amount of hours working in that field before you can apply. So that advice I'm giving you will also just be a requirement for school.

Good luck to you!

[swirlything]

I'm a neonatal ICU nurse, and I'm in school for FNP. I agree with the previous poster. Go work in a NICU and see for yourself what it's like.

I LOVE preemies... that's why I'm a NICU nurse. I don't find it difficult to see sick babies, or even dying babies. Even with the babies you cannot save, you are helping the families. I understand death is just another part of life, and I believe that there are worse things than death. Having said that, the vast majority of babies go home.

[babyNP., APRN]

A couple of us who are NNPs posted on this thread awhile ago that should answer some of your questions: https://allnurses.com/nicu-nursing-neonatal/neonatal-nurse-practitioner-1002137.html#post8623602

In reference to your question about babies dying, well, yes it does happen, although less than you might think, especially at a community NICU. Honestly, the babies that are dying are usually those that wouldn't have a good outcome anyway. It's depressing to go to the PICU and see these comatose former NICU babies, now children, who don't do anything at all. So in that sense, I think it's better on 1. the baby because they aren't in pain from all these invasive medical interventions that we do and 2. the parents because many of them do not realize the sheer amount of emotional energy it takes to take care of someone like that for the rest of the child's life. And divorce rates for parents with medically complex children is higher. I've had more than one parent comment to me on their now 6 month infant that if they knew now what they didn't know then (and even if we paint a picture, it's hard for them to grasp & accept) that they wouldn't have gone through with all the invasive medical interventions.