Derriford

Neonatal nursing is a hugely rewarding career, which enables nurses to come into contact with newborn babies on a daily basis. Neonatal nurses care for babies who have been born with health conditions or illnesses and premature babies.

What does neonatal nursing involve?

Neonatal nursing jobs involve a range of different roles and responsibilities; the primary role is to care for the newborn baby by monitoring their condition, liaising with other health professionals and using specialist technology and equipment to facilitate and deliver treatment to the newborn baby. Often, newborn babies who are born prematurely have health conditions and problems, which mean that they need additional help and care. Many have breathing problems and require assistance with their breathing. Some babies are born with health conditions, which mean that they need immediate treatment and continued care – some babies spend many weeks in specialist neonatal units, while they build up strength.

Another important role of neonatal nurse jobs is to offer support and advice to parents who have a baby in the neonatal unit. It can be very distressing for parents to see their newborn baby hooked up to machines and they be very upset and confused. Neonatal nurses help to reassure parents and explain what is going on and what the different machines do. Often, nurses provide parents with a huge amount of support and many parents become very close to the nurses caring for their baby. The nurses also play a very important role in comforting parents in the event that a newborn baby dies; they spend time with the grieving parents, listen to them and sympathise with them.

What are the benefits of a career in neonatal nursing?

Neonatal nursing is a unique career, which can be very rewarding as not everyone gets the opportunity to spend their days looking after tiny newborn babies. It is hugely satisfying to see babies getting stronger and healthier and enable parents to start to build a relationship with their newborn child. Neonatal nurses play a very important role in the early development of the baby and are responsible for looking after them and helping them to get stronger. The nurses are also very important for parents and relatives and many parents who have had children in neonatal care praise the nurses for their hard work and dedication.

Are there any disadvantages of a career in neonatal nursing?

As with all nursing jobs, there are disadvantages of a career in neonatal nursing – nurses have to work long hours, which often include shifts at antisocial hours. Nursing is not well-paid in comparison to other jobs and the work is physically and emotionally challenging. Some days will be heartbreaking but there is often no time to dwell on upsetting cases because there are other babies and other parents who will need your help and support. Nurses also work weekends and bank holidays.

Nursing is a popular career choice and there are many different types of nursing job available, such as neonatal nursing jobs. Nursing roles include:

• Mental health nursing
• Adult nursing
• Paediatric nursing
• School nursing
• District nursing
• Practice nursing
• Community nursing
• Neonatal nursing jobs
• Nursing consultants
• Prison nursing
• Learning disabilities nursing
• Health visitors

What does a career in nursing involve?

Nursing involves a range of different roles, which revolve around caring for people who are unwell or recovering from illness. Nurses play an extremely important role and provide a great deal of emotional support, as well as looking after patients, giving out medications, recording information, carrying out tests, including blood tests, and checking blood pressure and heart rate, liaising with doctors and other health professionals and adhering to cross infection protocol.

What qualities does a good nurse have?

Nursing is a very demanding job, which is not always satisfying and glamorous. All nurses will come across difficult patients and scenarios and good nurses will be resilient and emotionally strong. Nurses have to make decisions under pressure and often have to work quickly; their actions can literally make the difference between life and death. Nurses work long hours and are often confronted with difficult and upsetting situations. It is therefore important that they have both physical and mental stamina. Nurses care for people who are unwell and they are required to act as a confidante and source of support for patients. It is important that they have good communication skills, a desire to help others and a compassionate nature.

There are a variety of nursing roles and different people may be more suited to some roles than others. For example, somebody who has a passion for caring for children, is very compassionate and emotionally strong, may be more suited to a neonatal nursing job, than a nursing job in an accident and emergency department.

Becoming a nurse

To work as a nurse in the NHS it is essential to have a diploma or a degree in nursing; there are many different courses available at higher education institutions across the UK and they accept candidates with a range of different academic and vocational qualifications. The courses involve placements in clinical settings, as well as theoretical study; this allows nurses to develop the practical skills, communication skills and social skills needed in the job and gives them an opportunity to experience life as a nurse before they graduate.