How much school does it take to be a maternity nursery nurse?

cats4reece: How much school does it take to be a maternity nursery nurse?
I’am 15 and i want to be a maternity nursery nurse when i get older. But I really want to know how many years of college do I need to take. And also can someone give me a really good detailed description of what a maternity nursery nurse do?
Also is it called Maternity nursery nurse or Newborn nursery nurse? If they are 2 different types then which does each of them do.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Mandie RN
You can become an RN with two years of college, but I would recommend obtaining your BSN (4 years). Most maternity units and labor and delivery units require their RNs to have a minimum amount of experience (anywhere from a year on up…sometimes having the BSN degree will get you in sooner).

The names most frequently used are Labor and Delivery Nurse, Mother/Baby, Maternity Nurse, OB nurse – they deal w/delivering of the newborns and the care of the mother,

NICU, Pediatric, and Nursery Nurses deal only w/the newborns.

To get into the Newborn area, the best bet is to go to a school that has 1 semester of OB and 1 semester of Pediatrics. At my school I was able to pick what area I wanted to do my practicum (we spend about 2.5 months working on a unit of our choice). I worked in a Level II NICU. It was the best experience of schooling. Unfortunately, out in the “real world”, NICU jobs are few and far between to come by. You have to work at a large hospital and limit yourself if you ever want to get out of pediatrics. I’m in my first job out of nursing school now and am working w/adults in postop orthopaedic surgery. it is okay, but I miss the newborns. A doctor once told me that working w/newborns is the most rewarding nursing avenue (and he doesn’t work w/newborns so he is not biased).

I feel like I overloaded you w/info. Good luck!