Overview of The Challenging Career in Neonatology

The educational track to a have a career in Neonatology is a long one. High school, Bachelor's degree, medical school, pediatric internship/ residency, and the neonatology fellowship are requirements needed in order to have a career in Neonatology. Four years of high school is needed, meaning you would have to graduate from high school in order to start the journey of becoming a Neonatologist. A bachelor’s degree which is usually about fours years. After completion, an award is given to students for their academic completion at a college or a university.

Another requirement is attending a medical school which is four year. There they focus on medicine and get a professional degree for physicians or surgeons. Most medical schools require a GPA of 3. 0 or higher. However, it depends on the type of medical school you plan to attend. Because some medical schools are highly competitive and require a much higher GPA. Pediatric internship and residency is also another requirement which takes about three years. The first year of training after attending medical school is called the pediatric internship. The pediatric residency gives you more detailed in-depth training in medicine. The neonatology fellowship is the concluding stage of becoming a neonatologist. The neonatology fellowship is required and takes another three years. This fellowship is a program that is targeted to develop yourself into a well-trained neonatologist. Adding up all the years of education, that makes about fourteen years of education in order to take the career as a Neonatologist. Although this may sound like an extreme amount of time, it is not. During these years you will not only be sitting in a classroom, but you will also be productive. After your second year of medical school, most of your time will be dedicated to training. You will be able to treat and take care of patients but under supervision. This may be from an experienced Neonatologist or even a pediatrician. This is done, so they can observe your actions and how you handle various situations. When you graduate from medical school you will have the opportunity to devote your time only to children. Although you will be around children and seems like an easy job you will have many responsibilities.

Neonatologists have huge responsibilities in their jobs. Neonatologists diagnose and treat newborns with conditions such as breathing disorders, infections, and birth defects. If a newborn has any Breathing disorders it may mean that the baby might have a hard time breathing. The baby's lungs may not be fully developed yet because they are born prematurely. A newborn can also get infections very quickly if not taken care of. The immune system of a baby is not fully developed yet and therefore the immune system cannot defend itself from infections. Most common infections are sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis. Which can cause death if not treated by the neonatologist or a pediatrician. Lastly, the newborn can have birth defects. Heart defects are the most common type of structural defect in these newborns. Others include spina bifida, cleft palate, and clubfoot. These can be solved with a surgery managed by a neonatologist. These birth defects can be caused by genetic problems or with the parent's chromosomes. If the mother knows that her family comes from people that have genetic issues then her baby will most likely have a birth defect. All of these issues that babies are born with or later develop on their own and need to be seen with a neonatologist.

There are many babies in this world that are born with several issues and need help and extreme care. A neonatologist would work in a hospital in the newborn intensive care unit or in special care units. The responsibility of a neonatologist is to manage the medical care necessary for premature infants or critically ill newborns. They all organize any surgeries that need to be done. The work environment for a neonatologist most of the time will be very stressful. Neonatology is a full-time job because a baby needs up to 24-hour attention. Becoming a neonatologist requires a lot of sacrifices and the one thing that may need to be given up is sleep. Some neonatologists create irregular sleep schedules because of the many hours of working in the hospital. Any neonatologist will work up to at least 30 hours a week which gives yourself no time to rest. The estimated number claimed by the UNICEF is that 353, 000 babies are born all around the world. Meaning that a neonatologist is very much-needed all around the world. Not all babies are born healthy, every baby is different in their own unique way. It is common for everyone to have future goals, and we should all be able to reach them.