NICU Resources and CEUs Every Nurse Needs to Know About
- Nurse Tori
- May 2, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 16, 2024
All of the best NICU nurse resources. These are the best tips, tricks, websites, CEUs, certifications, organizations, etc. to help you transition and add to your NICU nurse career. After almost a decade of NICU nursing, I have a lot of resources up my sleeve...and I want to bring them here to you! Let's dive in...
LET'S START AT THE BEGINNING
If you’re a neonatal nurse, you know that staying up-to-date on the latest evidence and research is not only necessary to renew your license, but is also essential to practicing safely and effectively. Those that have been in the NICU field for a while know that finding reliable educational materials and CEU courses can sometimes be as stressful as providing infant care.
Embarking on my social media journey, I realized that the new generation of NICU nurses is still struggling to find the resources I needed when I was just starting out over 10 years ago. Don’t worry — we’ve done the research and have found the high-quality learning materials we know you need.
NICU Nurse Resources By Category
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Here, we review top NICU nurse resources, including continuing education courses, conferences, books, podcasts, websites, and professional nursing organizations. This list is comprehensive and offers hundreds of opportunities to find the accurate and trustworthy information you need! Let’s dive in.
CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSES:
♡ NICUity Academy Courses: Whether you enroll in our New Grad Miniclass, NICU Essentials Masterclass, or Experienced Nurse Crash Course, you’ll be learning from the best in the field while earning valuable CEUs. You can enroll in our comprehensive courses or if you prefer to read on your own time, you can stick to studying our electronic or hard copy materials. Either way, once you’re done, you’ll feel confident and prepared to face any work challenge! ♡ University MedEd: On this site, you’ll find short-form comprehensive medical education. As part of NICU University, Med On The Go is the new mobile-friendly platform delivering comprehensive pediatric nursing education in short videos.
♡ NCC Continuing Education: Here, you can find tons of CE courses in a number of NICU-related fields, including neonatology, women’s health, and obstetrics. You can also receive free CEUs in any core area for helping the NCC pretest questions for their certification exams! This is a super fun way to get involved with the NCC and make a difference in the lives of the next generation NICU nurses!
♡ Nurse.com Neonatal Continuing Education: This site offers a variety of NICU CEUs and advertises courses like “Neonatal Life Support”, “Newborn Screening”, and “ELNEC Pediatric Curriculum”. For those who may be interested in other specialties as well, Nurse.com offers hundreds of contact hours for RNs, LPNs, and nurse practitioners in a variety of clinical settings.
♡ NetCE Nationally Accredited Evidence-based CME: NetCE offers nationally-accredited evidence-based CME/CEU/CE for a variety of healthcare professionals. For NICU specific education, we recommend their “Breastfeeding”, “Newborn Assessment”, and “Care of Families With Sick Newborns” courses.
♡ Pediatrix Continuing Education: Here, you can find a variety of engaging courses and webinars, most of which are completely free! They also host live “Grand Rounds” webinars on the first Wednesday of every month from 1600-1700 ET! This is a great opportunity to network and learn with NICU providers from around the world.
♡ Abbott Nutrition Health Institute: The mission of ANHI is to connect and empower individuals with science-based nutrition information to help improve health. They offer a variety of NICU-specific courses, reading materials, and training programs to help you better familiarize yourself with the most updated NICU nutrition research out there.
NICU BOOKS:
This list of hardcopy and e-book references is great for both new and experienced NICU nurses. Whether you like having the book with you at the bedside or prefer referencing information on your phone, there are plenty of books for you. You can find a more expansive list of my favorite clinical and career guidance books at my Amazon store.
♡ The NICU Essentials Masterclass eBook: Our comprehensive 130 page e-book will provide you with all the necessary NICU knowledge from nursing school and resumes, to diagnosis and prematurity, to bedside skills, to cardiac defects, night shift tips, and much more! This e-book contains a mix of informational and interactive pages to guide you through your entire NICU journey.
♡ Merenstein & Gardner’s Handbook of Neonatal Intensive Care: This is a thorough clinical review tool that can help you understand the more complex clinical concepts surrounding NICU nursing.
♡ Peds Congenital Heart Education: This organization’s Illustrated Field Guide to Congenital Heart Disease and Repair is one of my favorite NICU resources on the market. It contains great pictures and explanations for some of the most common congenital heart diseases seen in the NICU- I highly recommend!
♡ Fast Facts for the Neonatal Nurse: A Nursing Orientation and Care Guide in a Nutshell: This is a great bedside reference tool for new NICU nurses and NICU nurse preceptors. The book provides an overview of care guidelines for a variety of NICU patient populations. In addition to skills checkoff lists, it also contains a quick-guide to lab values and commonly used medications.
CHECK OUT OUR COMPLETE NICU E-BOOK COLLECTION
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NICU CONFERENCES
Looking to learn while growing your NICU network and community? Attending conferences is the perfect way to expand your knowledge, meet other NICU professionals, and travel to new parts of the world! Here are a few great conferences coming up:
♡ National Association of Neonatal Nurses: NAAN is hosting their 40th annual conference this year in Orlando, Florida! From September 18-20th 2024, you can attend workshops, seminars, and educational sessions, all of which are aimed to teach and inspire us NICU nurses!
♡ American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition: From September 27-October 1st 2024, you can be one of over 10,000 pediatric health professionals to learn and grow at this conference held in Orlando, Florida. Listen to keynote speakers, network with other NICU nurses, and earn CEUs!
♡ National Neonatal Nurses Conference: Held September 4-7 in New Orleans, this conference is sure to be the perfect mix of learning and fun. Perinatal, NICU, and NICU NP professionals are all invited to attend.
NICU NURSE PODCASTS & BLOGS
Academic materials are great, but sometimes you just want the cold, hard truth about NICU nursing and what it entails. Here, I’ve listed a few blogs and podcast episodes for those that are looking to cut straight to the chase:
♡ NICU Nurse 101 Blog: "What is NICU Nursing really like?": This article should answer questions like “What are the most common NICU diagnoses?”, “What is a NICU nurse’s workflow?” and “What are the most important factors involved with infant assessment?”. If you’re looking to see whether NICU nursing is for you, I highly recommend checking this blog out.
♡ Cellfie Podcast: Answering Your NICU Questions Roundtable with @thatnursetia: In this podcast episode, TikTok NICU RN Tia, a close friend of mine, gives her input on her favorite parts of NICU nursing, common NICU myths, and the biggest hurdles she’s faced on the job.
♡ NICU Heroes Podcast by Hand To Hold: This podcast provides great bedside tips for NICU nurses, including how to best communicate with grieving parents, avoiding burnout, and guidance for supporting NICU dads. An extra perk is that listening to these episodes earn you CE hours! This is a great option for earning education hours on vacation or during your commute!
NICU EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES
Here, I’ve compiled a list of the top couple informational NICU websites that you can peruse or provide to families who are looking to learn more about NICU research, charity outreach, or community events:
♡ March of Dimes: The March of Dimes strives to close the health equity gap for all mothers and infants, through research, legislative action, and community education.
♡ Nationwide Children’s NICU Resources: Nationwide houses an incredible reference section for NICU professionals and families. They provide an in-depth review of developmentally appropriate care, feeding guidelines, discharge planning resources, and more.
PROFESSIONAL NICU NURSING ORGANIZATIONS
Joining professional nursing organizations not only boosts your career portfolio, but can also help you network and learn more about cutting-edge devices, therapies, and treatments! By becoming a member of these groups and organizations, you’ll gain access to all the info you’ll need. Here are few of my favorites:
♡ National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NAAN): NAAN is a professional nursing organization aimed at training and empowering NICU nurses across the United States. They provide 20 free online CEUs to members and allow access to their monthly newsletter and journal to read up on all the latest NICU news. You’ll also receive discounted rates on conferences and seminars — it’s a membership that’ll pay for itself and look good on your resume!
♡ Academy of Neonatal Nursing: Becoming a member of the ANN is a great way to network, learn, and grow as a NICU leader. Your membership fee provides discounts on conference attendance, certification review courses, and CEUs. ANN members looking to go back to school can even apply for one of their great scholarships! You should definitely check this one out.
♡ The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics, and Neonatal Nursing (AWHONN): AWHONN prioritizes advocacy, education, research, and professional development. Their website is chock full of webinars, journals, and online courses to help you practice at your best.
Looking to Stay Current On the Latest NICU Happenings?
At NICUity, we’ve got you covered with the nursing resources, educational materials, and work essentials to help you perform your best. By subscribing to our free email newsletter, you’d be the first to hear about any hot NICU news or new merchandise drops! For more info on all we have to offer, feel free to check out our site!
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If you are seeking a more "In Depth Conversation"
head over to the Podcast!
REVEALS all things NICU Nurse 101!
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Another great resource for you BELOW. I was featured on The Morning Rounds and talked all things NICU Nursing. Dynamics, my personal journey, NICU Nurse Tips & Tricks!
NICU Nurse Essential Resources
March of Dimes! Resources for parents & providers
Tori Meskin has been a dedicated clinician since 2012, working in acute care and inpatient NICU settings in Southern California. She holds a National NICU Nurse Certification (RNC-NIC) and has extensive experience as a travel NICU nurse. Tori is a sponsored MSN student at Capella University and a Brave Beginnings Ambassador. She recently launched NICUity, a company dedicated to empowering NICU professionals with education, bedside tools, and resources. Follow her journey as she navigates the NICU world, married life, and new motherhood, all while juggling work, school, and content creation. Discover her top-notch tips and tricks at www.tipsfromtori.com or contact her at tipsfromtorimanagement@gmail.com.
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