Neonatal nurses are responsible for monitoring infants for complications when they are in hospital neonatal intensive care units, according to MyPursuit.com. They also must know how to diplomatically present any concerns to infants' parents and answer family questions. They observe machines that are attached to babies, such as incubators or ventilators, and record their observations. In addition, neonatal nurses must know how to take vital signs such as blood pressure. Neonatal nursing training programs teach students how to complete these many critical duties.
Aspiring neonatal nurses first must pursue training to become a registered nurse. This involves completing a bachelor's degree program in nursing, according to AllNursingSchools.com. After completing this four-year program, students must pass the National Council Licensure Examination, or the NCLEX-RN, to be licensed as a registered nurse. To gain specialized training in neonatal nursing, registered nurses then must complete a master's degree program in this field.
To get into a two-year advanced practice neonatal nursing master's degree program, students often must have a bachelor's degree in nursing with an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0. Master's degree programs also often look for registered nurses who have one to two years of experience in a critical neonatal intensive care unit environment. Programs additionally require students to complete prerequisite courses such as statistics and submit recommendation letters along with competitive scores on the Graduate Record Examination or the Miller Analogies Test for graduate school admission.
Courses in a neonatal nursing program cover topics such as assessing the health of newborns, hereditary factors and fetal growth and development. In addition, classes teach students how to detect and treat illnesses in babies as well as the proper drug therapies for infants. Students also learn about economics and finance in the health care industry. In addition, neonatal nursing students at the master's degree level also usually must complete at least 600 hours of practical experience. Classes additionally prepare students for certification in neonatal intensive care nursing and neonatal resuscitation. Master's degree programs prepare students for licensure as a clinical nurse specialist or nurse practitioner.
The demand for neonatal nurses remains strong as the population continues to grow and as the survival rates of low-birth-weight babies increase because of medical advances, according to AllNursingSchools.com. Employment of registered nurses, which include neonatal nurses, is projected to climb by 22 percent through 2018, reports the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median salary of neonatal nurse practioners in 2010 was $79,588, according to Payscale.com.