Question about neonatal nurse roles

[mslinzyann]

My main goal for working in medicine is to be able to help patients, families, and to educate the community I work in. I really want to be in the role of advocating for the patient in addition to being there to explain to parents what is happening with their child's treatment and how they are coming along. I want to have classes in the community relating to the health issues of women and children, too. Are these goals in the scope of what a nurse does, or is it more what a doctor does? I guess I'm not clear- particularly in neonatal med- who does what.

[hikernurse]

Nurses are always advocating for their patients--esp. little ones who don't have a voice yet. I think you'll find that NICU nurses do a lot of advocating. Nurses are also very involved in educating and informing family members. The docs are the ones who explain medical treatment, but nurses are there to let families know what is happening on a day to day basis as well as educate them on what their baby has.

I don't see as much community education, but I'm sure there are opportunities out there. That could be a great area to be pro-active in. We don't address many women's health issues (their pregnancies are over with by the time we see them) but we do encourage parents, esp. recovering moms, to take care of themselves in order to keep them healthy and able to care for their babies in the hospital and at home.