RNC-LRN case studies
RNC-LRN · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The RNC-LRN in Low-Risk Neonatal Nursing is a specialty certification for registered nurses and advanced practice nurses who care for healthy, term and near-term newborns and their families - typically in mother-baby, couplet care, level I nurseries, and normal newborn settings. It signals that a nurse has moved beyond generalist orientation and can be accountable for the full arc of normal newborn transition and early extrauterine life: the first assessment, thermoregulation, feeding, screening, common deviations, and family teaching at discharge. Exam content is organized around broad areas of practice rather than a single textbook chapter. Expect items on physiologic adaptation and systematic assessment; maternal and intrapartum factors that shape newborn status; routine care such as skin, cord, and metabolic screening; breastfeeding and formula feeding support; common conditions including hyperbilirubinemia, hypoglycemia, weight loss, and respiratory distress; family-centered education and discharge planning; and professional practice topics like safety and quality improvement. The RNC-LRN case studies are 5 cases and about 4,460 words.
1Sleepy Late-Preterm Infant with Rising Bilirubin Overnight
A girl born at 36 5/7 weeks by spontaneous vaginal delivery is now 70 hours old. Birth weight 2,780 g; today's weight 2,510 g.
831 words, about 4 min2Maternal Fever in Labor: Reading the Newborn's Transition
A 41 0/7-week primigravida ruptures membranes spontaneously at 04:00 with clear fluid. At 13:00 her temperature is 38.4°C, heart rate 112, and the fetal baseline is 165 without decelerations.
794 words, about 4 min3Late-Preterm Thermoregulation, First Bath, and an Unexpected Finding
A boy born at 36 2/7 weeks, 2,290 g, is 45 minutes old and in an open radiant warmer. The delivery room ambient temperature was 21.5°C.
859 words, about 4 min4Day Five, Cracked Nipples, and a Can of Formula on the Counter
A first-time mother had an uncomplicated vaginal birth at 39 1/7 weeks; birth weight 3,300 g. Today the baby weighs 3,050 g.
987 words, about 5 min5Two Infants, One Surname: A Feeding Near-Miss and the Audit That Followed
A 28-bed postpartum unit with about 180 births per month audits 30 mother–baby couplets. Newborn identification bands were verified against the mother's band at 12 of 30 first feedings.
989 words, about 5 min