How to hire a neonatal nurse practitioner

How to hire a neonatal nurse practitioner, step by step

Here's a step-by-step neonatal nurse practitioner hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a neonatal nurse practitioner job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new neonatal nurse practitioner
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a neonatal nurse practitioner job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your neonatal nurse practitioner job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a neonatal nurse practitioner for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A neonatal nurse practitioner's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, neonatal nurse practitioners from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of neonatal nurse practitioner salaries for various roles:

   Type of Neonatal Nurse Practitioner	Description	Hourly rate
   Neonatal Nurse Practitioner	Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, also referred to as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), coordinate patient care and may provide primary and specialty healthcare. The scope of practice varies from state to state.	$25-90
   Utilization Review Nurse	The primary role of an Utilization Review Nurse is to analyze the condition of each patient carefully and decide if the patient still needs to stay in the hospital or be sent home. They deal with patients' relatives, doctors, and people from insurance companies.	$22-42
   Clinical Liaison	A clinical liaison's role is to promote health care and rehabilitation facilities to patients and their families. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies to reach sales targets, reviewing patient cases, having an in-depth understanding of the facilities and potential patients, assisting clients in filling up paperwork, maintaining records and data of all transactions, and addressing inquiries and concerns... Show more	$18-53

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • NNP
   • NRP
   • Resuscitation
   • Intubation
   • Level II
   • Delivery Room
   • Diagnostic Tests
   • Primary Care
   • Ventilation
   • Discharge Planning
   • Physical Exams
   • Lumbar Puncture

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage appropriate changes to individualize care plan to ensure cost and time efficacy in an outpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation office.
   • Provide management for critically ill infants and resuscitation for high-risk newborns in the delivery room in collaboration with attending physician
   • Educate patients' families about self-management of acute or chronic illnesses, tailoring instructions to infants' individual circumstances.
   • Participate in education of pediatric residents in learning newborn resuscitation and outreach education of community/referral hospitals regarding newborn care and stabilization.
   • Prescribe age-specific physical therapy and rehabilitation.
   • Prescribe age-specific physical therapy and rehabilitation.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your neonatal nurse practitioner job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A neonatal nurse practitioner salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, neonatal nurse practitioners' average salary in hawaii is 50% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level neonatal nurse practitioners earn 71% less than senior-level neonatal nurse practitioners.
   • Certifications. A neonatal nurse practitioner with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a neonatal nurse practitioner's salary.

   Average neonatal nurse practitioner salary

   $101,262yearly

   $48.68 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level neonatal nurse practitioner salary

   $54,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

4. Writing a neonatal nurse practitioner job description

   A good neonatal nurse practitioner job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a neonatal nurse practitioner job description:

   Neonatal nurse practitioner job description example

   Children's Hospital of New Orleans is a leader in Pediatric care throughout the Southeast region.
   
   Children's Hospital is a not-for-profit medical center offering the most advanced pediatric care for children from birth to 21 years. With over 40 pediatric specialties and more than 400 physicians, it is the only full-service hospital exclusively for children in Louisiana and the Gulf South.
   
   POSITION SUMMARY:
   
   The Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) is responsible for providing care in an advanced practice nursing role under approved protocols in accordance with the Collaborative Practice Agreement and NNP Scope of Practice. The NNP, under the direction of the neonatology medical staff, will provide primary medical management in the NICU for infants. Additional opportunities exist in neonatal-related education and research. The NNP represents Nursing, Hospital Administration, and Academic partners in the clinical areas and functions with the philosophy and objectives mutually agreed upon with Nursing Administration. Potential opportunity exists for additional work in an affiliated delivery hospital.
   
   DUTIES/SKILLS:
   
   Management and emergency stabilization of critically ill neonates, teaching and collaboration with nurses, pediatric residents and neonatology fellows, discharge planning, and family education. The NNP will manage a team of patients and participate in daily rounds as well as provide 24/7 coverage to the NICU. There is no transport or delivery requirement for this position.
   
   Knowledge and proficiency of neonatal specific skills including but not limited to: endotracheal intubation, chest tube placement, umbilical line placement, peripheral artery puncture and cannulation, lumbar puncture, needle thoracotomy, management of conventional and oscillatory ventilation.
   
   EDUCATION:
   
   Current National Certification (NCC), Collaborative Practice Agreement and Prescriptive Authority are required under state law. Bachelor's and Master's (or higher) degrees in Nursing from an accredited college or university are required along with Advanced Practice RN licensure, Basic Life Support/CPR, and Neonatal Resuscitation Program certifications.
   
   EXPERIENCE:
   
   Two years' experience as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner preferred.
   
   Children's Hospital is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find neonatal nurse practitioners for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any neonatal nurse practitioners they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level neonatal nurse practitioners with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   To find neonatal nurse practitioner candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with neonatal nurse practitioner candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new neonatal nurse practitioner

   Once you've selected the best neonatal nurse practitioner candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new neonatal nurse practitioner first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a neonatal nurse practitioner?