Background: There is a need to ‘future-proof’ the neonatal nursing workforce in Australia for several reasons. New technology in the neonatal setting has led to an increase in the workload of neonatal nurses who are required to use this technology as well as troubleshoot problems as they arise; an ageing workforce, with recent AIHW data revealing that the average age of a neonatal nurse is 50.7, with 62.5 aged over 50. There is an urgent need to attract nurses into the area, but as with many other specialities, there is very limited exposure to neonatal nursing in undergraduate programs. Of the 30 undergraduate nursing program providers available in Australia, only 2 (7.5%) offer neonatal nursing as an elective course for those students interested in pursuing a neonatal nursing career.

Method: A needs analysis survey of undergraduate BN students in one of the largest program providers in Queensland asked students about their interest in undertaking elective study in neonatal nursing, and whether they had considered neonatal nursing as a postgraduate career.

Results: Of the 224 respondents, the majority of student were in the 1st and 2nd year of their program, and were considering elective courses (84%). Eighty-five percent of respondents were certain that if a neonatal elective course were available that they would enrol, with a further 12% interested. Furthermore, 65% of respondents indicated that neonatal nursing was the reason they wanted to become a Registered Nurse.

Conclusions: The overwhelming interest in neonatal nursing as a future career has led to the development of a neonatal nursing undergraduate elective course at our University. The course has 180 enrolments and is developed with industry consultation and may assist in meeting the projected shortfall in the neonatal workforce in the coming years.