1 answer
Anaya
Student
Brooklyn, OH
1
Question
Updated
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What do I have to do to further my career in neonatology?
I am a senior in high school and I am in a nursing program.
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1 answer
James Hanson
Pediatric Intensive Care Physician; Consultant
157
Answers
Oakland, California
Updated
James’s Answer
What are your personal goals?
There is a national shortage of nurses, including intensive care nursery nurses, so if you complete your nursing degree, you should have little trouble finding a job in an NICU. Any nursing school should have connections to at least one NICU, and there are many excellent hospitals in Ohio if you want to stay near home.
If you want to go farther, you can consider applying to medical school to then go on through a pediatrics residency and a neonatology fellowship. Although that is certainly a longer, more expensive path, the rewards can be fantastic. I have worked with many fabulous neonatologists who excelled in research, or in clinical care, or in teaching, or in hospital administration - and often a combination of these.
If you start by comlpeting your nursing degree, you have not burnt any bridges. You can decide to go on to become a nurse practitioner, or you could still decide to pursue a medical degree.
My sister got her PhD in nursing, and became a nursing professor, so that, too, is an option.
In any case, to move along any of these paths, you will need to study hard, demonstrate a good work ethic and good patient care interactions. You should politely, but thoughtfully challenge processes that don't seem ideal (there are far too many of these in healthcare!). You should not give up the other activities you enjoy, as people want their healthcare providers to be well-rounded individuals. Those that work in an NICU (or PICU or ED, or inpatient unit...) become a sort of a family, and they want their co-workers to add something to that family - the singer, the baker, the artist...
There is a national shortage of nurses, including intensive care nursery nurses, so if you complete your nursing degree, you should have little trouble finding a job in an NICU. Any nursing school should have connections to at least one NICU, and there are many excellent hospitals in Ohio if you want to stay near home.
If you want to go farther, you can consider applying to medical school to then go on through a pediatrics residency and a neonatology fellowship. Although that is certainly a longer, more expensive path, the rewards can be fantastic. I have worked with many fabulous neonatologists who excelled in research, or in clinical care, or in teaching, or in hospital administration - and often a combination of these.
If you start by comlpeting your nursing degree, you have not burnt any bridges. You can decide to go on to become a nurse practitioner, or you could still decide to pursue a medical degree.
My sister got her PhD in nursing, and became a nursing professor, so that, too, is an option.
In any case, to move along any of these paths, you will need to study hard, demonstrate a good work ethic and good patient care interactions. You should politely, but thoughtfully challenge processes that don't seem ideal (there are far too many of these in healthcare!). You should not give up the other activities you enjoy, as people want their healthcare providers to be well-rounded individuals. Those that work in an NICU (or PICU or ED, or inpatient unit...) become a sort of a family, and they want their co-workers to add something to that family - the singer, the baker, the artist...