High-Paying Travel Nursing Jobs for specialists | 2023
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Nursing Specialty & Travel Jobs
Registered nurses who work in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) perform life-sustaining nursing care for infants. NICU travel nurses have many duties, including administering medications, providing vital nutrients to newborns, and closely monitoring their vital signs. NICU RNs also need to ensure that infants are breathing and maturing accordingly because the lungs of most premature and sick newborns are underdeveloped.
NICU travel nursing jobs can be found at levels I, II, III, and IV nurseries all over the United States. These levels range from the level I NICUs caring for the most healthy and close to full-term infants to level IV NICUs treating critically ill or very early neonates that require the most intensive care and oftentimes surgical interventions. NICU nurses have various duties that range from stabilizing healthier infants to providing intensive care to critically ill neonates.
If you are looking at NICU nurse jobs, you need to be sure that you have a solid and very comprehensive understanding of the criteria of babies that are admitted to NICU such as preterm delivery and low birth weight. You must be confident in your skills to address neonatal conditions, such as infections, heart problems, and birth defects. It’s also important that you have clinical experience caring for multiples, such as twins and triplets, and they are often admitted to the NICU. Furthermore, you need to be sure that you are familiar with the current advanced technology and equipment used in neonatal units, such as feeding tubes and infant IV administration so that you will be able to provide the highest level of care possible.
If you are only looking at how to become a NICU nurse, then NICU travel jobs are not for you. NICU travel nurses need to be very experienced and ready to provide care and treatment to newborns in intensive care units and their parents.
As parents are a huge part of the care team when it comes to treating sick infants, it’s important that you are comfortable with providing patient education, and that you are compassionate and supportive as these parents are often in very fragile states as it’s difficult to see their babies receiving so many interventions to their tiny bodies. Parental support is going to range from teaching them skills on how to take care of their baby when it goes home to providing encouragement and emotional support. You also need to be sure that you have excellent communication skills as you will be in charge of reporting to several different physicians and other members of the care team.
Job Skills / Requirements for NICU Travel Nurses:
- Valid BLS from the American Heart Association and Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) credential
- A valid professional license within the state of practice
- Specialty-related certifications are preferred and may be required for specific positions
- Proof of right to work in the United States
- Experience as a NICU nurse
NICU Travel Nurse Salary and Job Outlook
NICU travel nursing jobs are expected to experience growth in the upcoming years. In fact, throughout the United States, there are always facilities seeking qualified NICU travel nurses. This provides ample opportunities to find the kind of travel nursing contract you really want in a location that works out perfectly for you. Compared to other travel nurses and other nursing specialties, NICU travel nurses often earn above-average compensation. This area of nursing often has opportunities for overtime in case you want to earn additional income during your assignment.
Elite Specialty Staffing also offers referral bonuses and other incentives that can further increase pay. NICU travel nurses who work with Elite Specialty Staffing can choose to take free, private, luxurious housing, or a generous housing subsidy. When you work as a NICU travel nurse with Elite Specialty Staffing, you will gain all the lucrative travel nursing benefits we offer. Apply today!