A NICU nurse is a registered nurse who specializes in the care of sick or premature newborns, as well as babies with birth defects. They work in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) within a hospital, providing comprehensive care to infants with various medical and surgical conditions. NICU nurses may also attend high-risk deliveries and respond to neonatal emergencies in labor and delivery units. They provide daily care for infants, such as feeding, bathing, and changing diapers, as well as perform comprehensive assessments, such as checking oxygen levels and vital signs and measuring fluid intake and waste output. NICU nurses also administer treatments and medication that have been prescribed by physicians. To become a NICU nurse, one must first become a registered nurse and work in a hospital with a NICU. Some NICUs require prior experience in infant care, such as work in pediatrics or in a well-newborn nursery, though most will hire new graduate nurses with a strong interest in neonatal intensive care and have orientation programs that teach them how to care for sick infants. NICU nurses may also choose to become neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs), who are advanced practice registered nurses with at least 2 years of experience as a bedside registered nurse in a Level III NICU, and are prepared to practice across the continuum, providing primary, acute, chronic, and critical care to neonates, infants, and toddlers through age 2.