Background

St. Luke’s Orthopaedic and Trauma Hospital is an ultra-modern hospital started in the year 2012, after operating as a clinic and an orthopaedics supplier since year 2005.

Job Purpose

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Nurse will provide comprehensive, high quality, and specialized nursing care to critically ill, premature, or low-birth-weight neonates. The successful candidate will ensure safe, evidence based clinical practices, provide immediate lifesaving interventions, support neonatologists and pediatricians in multidisciplinary teams, and deliver compassionate, family-centered care across the continuum of neonatal health.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide advanced, specialized nursing care to critically ill, premature, or low-birth-weight neonates in the NICU.
• Continuously monitor and assess neonatal vital signs, cardiac rhythms, respiratory status, and neurological parameters.
• Manage, titrate, and troubleshoot specialized NICU equipment including incubators, mechanical ventilators, CPAP machines, phototherapy units, and infusion pumps.
• Administer specialized neonatal medications, intravenous fluids, total parenteral nutrition (TPN), and blood products accurately in accordance with prescribed protocols.
• Assist neonatologists and pediatricians with advanced clinical procedures, including endotracheal intubations, umbilical line insertions, lumbar punctures, and surfactant administration.
• Coordinate and conduct immediate resuscitation and stabilization of neonates experiencing acute distress or life-threatening emergencies.
• Perform routine and emergency nursing interventions such as non-invasive ventilation maintenance, oxygen therapy, gastric tube feeding, and meticulous skin and umbilical care.
• Provide supportive, empathetic family-centered care, educating parents on neonatal health, breastfeeding, kangaroo mother care (KMC), and safe home-discharge guidelines.
• Interpret diagnostic investigations including neonatal arterial blood gas (ABG) panels, laboratory values, and bedside radiological findings to initiate timely nursing actions.
• Maintain precise, up-to-date, and confidential clinical documentation, nursing care plans, and comprehensive handover records.
• Participate in multidisciplinary ward rounds, clinical audits, neonatal mortality reviews, and departmental quality improvement projects.
• Mentor, supervise, and orient junior nurses, nursing interns, and student attachments rotating through the neonatal unit.
• Promote and enforce strict infection prevention and control (IPC) standards, aseptic techniques, and patient safety protocols within the sterile NICU environment.
• Participate actively in the hospital’s nursing shift schedules, emergency response protocols, and on-call rosters.
• Undertake any other clinical duties assigned by the Nursing Officer in Charge or hospital management.

Qualifications and Experience

• Diploma or Bachelor of Science in Nursing (KRCHN / BScN) from a recognized institution.
• Higher Diploma in Neonatal Nursing or Critical Care Nursing (specializing in Neonatal Care) from a recognized training institution.
• Valid registration and current Annual Practising Licence from the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK).
• Minimum of three (3) years’ post specialization clinical experience working in a busy NICU within a Level 4, Level 5, or Level 6 hospital environment.
• Valid certifications in Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) will be a highly distinct advantage.
• Certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) is required.

Competency

• Excellent clinical and technical nursing skills specifically tailored for high-acuity neonatal intensive care and resuscitation.
• Profound decision-making and rapid problem-solving abilities during acute neonatal emergencies and critical status changes.
• Strong situational leadership, interpersonal capability, and multidisciplinary team collaborative skills.
• Outstanding communication skills, demonstrated by the ability to explain complex clinical conditions compassionately to anxious families.
• High standards of medical ethics, professionalism, and strict adherence to nursing practice standards.
• A patient-centered, highly compassionate, and empathetic approach to neonatal nursing and family care.
• Proven resilience and ability to work efficiently under pressure while managing high-stress emergency environments.
• Meticulous organization, with accurate documentation, clinical report writing, and data collection habits.
• Unwavering commitment to continuous professional development (CPD) and evidence-based clinical quality improvement.

• Provide advanced, specialized nursing care to critically ill, premature, or low-birth-weight neonates in the NICU.
• Continuously monitor and assess neonatal vital signs, cardiac rhythms, respiratory status, and neurological parameters.
• Manage, titrate, and troubleshoot specialized NICU equipment including incubators, mechanical ventilators, CPAP machines, phototherapy units, and infusion pumps.
• Administer specialized neonatal medications, intravenous fluids, total parenteral nutrition (TPN), and blood products accurately in accordance with prescribed protocols.
• Assist neonatologists and pediatricians with advanced clinical procedures, including endotracheal intubations, umbilical line insertions, lumbar punctures, and surfactant administration.
• Coordinate and conduct immediate resuscitation and stabilization of neonates experiencing acute distress or life-threatening emergencies.
• Perform routine and emergency nursing interventions such as non-invasive ventilation maintenance, oxygen therapy, gastric tube feeding, and meticulous skin and umbilical care.
• Provide supportive, empathetic family-centered care, educating parents on neonatal health, breastfeeding, kangaroo mother care (KMC), and safe home-discharge guidelines.
• Interpret diagnostic investigations including neonatal arterial blood gas (ABG) panels, laboratory values, and bedside radiological findings to initiate timely nursing actions.
• Maintain precise, up-to-date, and confidential clinical documentation, nursing care plans, and comprehensive handover records.
• Participate in multidisciplinary ward rounds, clinical audits, neonatal mortality reviews, and departmental quality improvement projects.
• Mentor, supervise, and orient junior nurses, nursing interns, and student attachments rotating through the neonatal unit.
• Promote and enforce strict infection prevention and control (IPC) standards, aseptic techniques, and patient safety protocols within the sterile NICU environment.
• Participate actively in the hospital’s nursing shift schedules, emergency response protocols, and on-call rosters.
• Undertake any other clinical duties assigned by the Nursing Officer in Charge or hospital management.

• Excellent clinical and technical nursing skills specifically tailored for high-acuity neonatal intensive care and resuscitation.
• Profound decision-making and rapid problem-solving abilities during acute neonatal emergencies and critical status changes.
• Strong situational leadership, interpersonal capability, and multidisciplinary team collaborative skills.
• Outstanding communication skills, demonstrated by the ability to explain complex clinical conditions compassionately to anxious families.
• High standards of medical ethics, professionalism, and strict adherence to nursing practice standards.
• A patient-centered, highly compassionate, and empathetic approach to neonatal nursing and family care.
• Proven resilience and ability to work efficiently under pressure while managing high-stress emergency environments.
• Meticulous organization, with accurate documentation, clinical report writing, and data collection habits.
• Unwavering commitment to continuous professional development (CPD) and evidence-based clinical quality improvement.

• Diploma or Bachelor of Science in Nursing (KRCHN / BScN) from a recognized institution.
• Higher Diploma in Neonatal Nursing or Critical Care Nursing (specializing in Neonatal Care) from a recognized training institution.
• Valid registration and current Annual Practising Licence from the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK).
• Minimum of three (3) years’ post specialization clinical experience working in a busy NICU within a Level 4, Level 5, or Level 6 hospital environment.
• Valid certifications in Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) will be a highly distinct advantage.
• Certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) is required.