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What all do I need to do to become a neonatal nurse?

I'm trying to find out all the schooling i need to take, what type of internships or jobs I can have while in school and all about the education. #nursing #medicalcareers #medical-education #medical-careers

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Thank you comment icon Hi Kaitlyn, great question! I'm also very interested in neonatal nursing. In order to become a neonatal nurse, you must first become a registered nurse with a bachelor of science in nursing degree. You also have to be certified in Neonatal Resuscitation and/or Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing. Depending on your situation, you may also be required to complete a minimum number of years of clinical experience in a hospital setting. If you're interested in becoming a neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP), you will also need a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. I hope this helps and I wish you the best! Mireia
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Ken’s Answer

The most important first step to take would be to take an interest and aptitude test to see if you have the personality traits that are shared with successful neonatal nurses. Then, it would help greatly to talk directly with neonatal nurses to see how you feel about what they are doing and get their suggestions on how to proceed.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
Here is a link which will provide some very interesting information: ## https://nursejournal.org/neonatal-nursing/nicu-nursing-careers-salary-outlook/ ##
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Brianne’s Answer

Kaitlyn, as this is a more specialized nursing field, I would first ask what about Neonatal nursing interests you? Understanding your interest in this field and learning what your passion is will help you on your path to nursing and could even lead you to change directions (which is okay). Working with a counselor and speaking to people in this field are always great places to start. Not only can you get a glimpse of what it is like to be a Neonatal nurse, but you can first hand insight as to what programs, courses, and other inside info that can be useful to you on your journey. As a starting point, I would recommend a personality test, like Myers Briggs (see below). It will help you identify your interests and preferences and how those can be applied or matched to a profession.

Myers & Briggs
https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/home.htm?bhcp=1

I can tell you from personal experience that these nurses are very special. They work with tiny humans and very stressed and scared parents. You definitely need to have the right personality and compassion to be in this field. This applies to many jobs in the medical field.
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