A neonatal nurse practitioner is a nurse who specializes in treatment and taking care of newborn babies, babies with complications (such as underweight, chronic heart problems, breathing problems, etc.) and premature babies.

Taking care of newborns take a lot of skills, knowledge and special techniques, that not just come from reading academic books in nursing but from practical experiences as well. Taking care of premature babies require even more special skills as they are vulnerable to various elements in the world.

Premature means that the baby was born earlier than the normal time period (a normal time period extends from nine and a half months to ten months).

Since the babies are born earlier, this means they are underdeveloped, being crossed eyed is a common phenomenon, special feeding is required, immunization and keeping the premature baby in a quarantined room (100% germ free) is an essential part of a practitioner’s job. With an underdeveloped immunity, their skin is vulnerable as it is readily exposed to the earthly elements. Premature babies don’t just require special care, they need intensive care. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a place where a nurse practitioner does her job. Other places include delivery rooms, emergency room and of course, the pediatrics clinics.

Neonatal Nurse Practitioners (NNP) have three stages in their work-field:

Stage 1 : Newborn nursery.
Stage 2 : Intermediate care nursery.
Stage 3 : Neonatal intensive care nursery.

An NNP not only takes special care of the babies but also teaches and educates the parents of the babies because special care is needed for premature babies, as well as babies with complications. NNPs can become consultants, but they can also become educators and teach classes in nursing schools on this subject, or offer classes on pregnancy and child-care.

In the United States of America NNPs is one of the highest paid jobs in the nursing industry. To become a professional NNP, one must receive their registered nursing license from their respective state board of nursing. A degree in Bachelor of Science in Nursing is required from the individual who would like to have a career as a NNP. Students must be trained in pharmacology, pediatrics and human anatomy. After the training of students is completed, they need to take the National Council Licensure Examination. One must contact their respective state board of nursing because some states require more than the above mentioned steps to get registered. A thorough overview of the process will be earned if one contacts their respective state board of nursing.

After a bachelor’s degree, there is obviously provision for a master’s degree, Master of Science in Nursing. To be eligible for admission in a master’s program, a year of nursing experience is often required. There is also a post-masters degree on Nurse Practitioners. There are many nursing schools that provide degrees for Nurse Practitioners: