Hi I'm a trainee ANNP, 11yrs NICU nurse practice.
It all depends on the unit you go to, there is a great variety of acuity and levels. So the NNU I work in is a big tertiary level based in a womens hospital. A tertiary level will vent, HFOV, iNO, pre and post op etc. Level 2/1 will stabilise a sick baby and transfer out to us. Then accept back once well out of the woods and stable- started some feed, time off CPAP, no new sepsis etc.
New nurses are on a band 5, onto a band 6 after a couple years experience. This again depends on the hospital, what the band change means, in smaller hospitals it means managing the NNU, our place its managing your room of 5 ITU babies.
Payscale- Agenda for Change 2