Neonatal Nursing - 1392 Words

Neonatal nurses spend their career working with babies, those that are healthy and those that are not. Working with newborns is guaranteed to have its challenges, especially for those particular nurses who choose to work in the neonatal intensive care unit. The neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, is where the infants suffering from potentially fatal diseases/disorders are held. NICU nurses struggle with life and death situations each and everyday, which is sure to be accompanied by specific emotions such as moral distress. In the words of researcher Kain (2006), â€Å"moral distress is defined as uncomfortable, painful emotions that arise when institutional constraints prevent the nurse from performing nursing tasks that are deemed necessary†¦show more content†¦The nurses were asked to explain what they felt their obligations were to the newborn and the newborn’s family (p. 579). According to Epstein’s research, talking to the parents is one obligation tha t begins a long list of many more. Nurses are forced to confront the parents of fatally ill infants and inform them that their child is going to die. The nurse presents parents with the decision to withdraw their child from life support and allow them to die peacefully, and sometimes the nurse is even asked to help the parents make this life-changing decision (p. 580). Once a decision is made to withdraw life support, the nurses then have to assist the parents in timing the withdrawal. Nurses comforted parents by assuring them that the withdrawal of life support did not need to happen right away (Epstein, 2010, p. 581). Just like in every other decision a person makes in life, the consequences of the decision almost immediately follow. It is rightfully assumed that once a parent makes the decision to allow their infant to die they would welcome support from anyone who offered. The nurses that participated in Epstein’s study shared the same opinion. Another obligation felt by the NICU nurses was being there for the parents. Epstein (2010) explained how these nurses felt a strong obligation to stay with the parents as their child slowly faded away. Some nurses felt the need toShow MoreRelatedLabor And Delivery Nursing And Neonatal Nursing Careers : The Truth And Reality2332 Words   |  10 PagesDelivery Nursing and Neonatal Nursing Careers: The Truth and Reality Choosing a Nursing Major Samantha L. Brown Southwestern High School Mrs. Bowman 5/5/15 Abstract This research paper shows the many varying aspects of all kinds of nursing, but focuses in on Neonatal Nursing and Labor and Delivery Nursing. One will be informed on the requirements, training, job outlook, daily duties, work environment, retirement plans, income, benefits, and work hours of these two careers in nursing. One willRead MoreNeonatal Nurse : A History That Is Different From The Other Nursing Specializations1837 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction Neonatal nursing has a history that is different from the other nursing specializations. Neonatal nurses have different practice settings and qualifications than other nurses. They have different job characteristics and different educational requirements. This field of nursing has also been recently in need of more trained professionals, so there are many career opportunities available. According to the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 3,100 neonatal nurses are practicing inRead MoreThe Importance of Neonatal Nursing Bonding with Patients1883 Words   |  8 PagesStability is the key to have healthy patients. Neonatal Nurses are incredible nurses to have in the healthcare facility. All Nurses can provide the same care and dependability in caring for their patient. Nurses are very consistent in the job that they perform. 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Introduction Take a second to imagine you are a father, who has an infant admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for the first time. How are you feeling? Afraid? Confused, even? If your baby is admitted to the NICU, your first question probably will be:Read MoreDescription Of A Nurse : Nicu1322 Words   |  6 Pageson time newborns. The very first NICU unit was at Yale-New Haven Hospital in 1960.Before the Neonatal Intensive Care unit the babies would go to the general care pediatric areas. Back then they would build infant incubators and that would help these premature babies out with heat and everything that came equipped with helping these babies get better. Most hospitals back then didn t have a lot of neonatal intensive care units. Mostly because of the cost and how many pregnancies were there. The HistoryRead MoreNeonatal Nurse Practitioner1617 Words   |  6 PagesNeonatal Nurse Practitioner A baby was just born at 26 weeks gestation. Just over half the normal 40 weeks a baby should stay inside the mother. The baby is immediately whisked away and taken to be evaluated and prepared for a long journey ahead. Ever since I could remember babies and the nursery at the hospital have fascinated me. Whenever we would go visit a friend who had a baby, I would find myself peaking over the windows into the nursery. I have known for a while that working in the