New Grad in L&D

orchid · Jun 20, 2004

That is rough and I'm sorry you had to go through that with her. Try not to be discouraged. Some people are just not good preceptors/teachers and thats the bottom line. No patience. You are new and trying to learn and absorb so much, I am in my 6th week now- it is HARD. I have just caught on to the routines and computer stuff, getting comfortable with id'ing the tracings, able to feel a couple cervix's-still have along way to go. But anyway, you are right- she should discuss your progression and other orientation stuff with you one on one. She is wrong no matter what- try not to feel bad. However, I do think that you should talk to whoever is in charge of your orientation about how you are feeling- perhaps you and this preceptor just dont click. It happens, and they should take that into consideration. Hang in there!

I am in the same boat...hired into L&D,and overwhelmed.One of my preceptors made a major mistake yesterday,and i lost it.(cried at break)
She proceeded to tell me (at the nurses station with other people around)that she didn't think i was progressing in my orientation as far as i should be;given the length of time i'd been there.Her comment didn't bother me,but the fact that she said it front of other people did.
Although I was hired for L&D I have been orienting to pp also,and am not getting as many L&D pts.(low census) as i might otherwise have. I've only worked with her a couple of times over 5 weeks,she really has no clue where i am at in terms of skill attainment.
Since I'm new i don't feel comfortable confronting her about her 'public' critique,and i'm scared to work with her again.
Best wishes to you...I think the suggestions made here were good.

orchid · Aug 3, 2004

Well it's over. I am disappointed but at the same time relieved to be out of there. Honestly, I felt like I was getting the hang of things, but just not as fast as they wanted me to.

When I was hired they told me I would have 6 months of training in L&D and that I would start in Post Partum so it would be a smoother transition than just throwing me into L&D. But as life goes, of course I was started right away in L&D and then am told that the training will be 3 months, not 6, and that the person that hired me gave me incorrect info. Anyway- I was still happy to be there so.. I gave it my best shot.

At first I was totally lost, but by the 3rd week I felt like I was slowly catching on. They kept reassuring me and saying I was doing fine. However, by 8 weeks I was getting some of my lady partsl exams right- but not ALL of them. And they said they were worried about that and my speed, especially my speed in emergent situations. I felt as though, if I had more time I would have been ok, but once they started putting the pressure on me by telling me these things my confidence went down the drain. So I left after being severely depressed for 2 weeks and applied for a Med Surg position at a hospital closer to home.

I got the job, and maybe (hopefully) this will be a little easier since it will be more like nursing school. I am trying to keep my confidence up but its hard- they told me not to feel like a failure and that I am a good nurse, and that they will rehire me if I ever opt to go back to them after I gain some experience being a nurse- but it still bothers me. Anyway- thanks again for all your advice and well wishes.

NurseKate · Aug 3, 2004

Hi Orchid,

I am sorry that things on your L&D unit did not go as smoothly as you had anticipated. It sounds like you made a valiant effort and tried to make the best of it, although it sounds that some co-workers weren't being as supportive as they could have or should have been. You did an admirable thing by recognizing that and getting out of that situation when it didn't feel right.

I wish you all the best on your med/surg unit. I hope that goes better for you and that you get more support from co-workers there (I know you have past med/surg experience, but I hope they help with the transition to a new job and new unit).

Best Wishes! :)

jeepgirl, LPN, NP · Aug 8, 2004

its very hard to be in a fast paced, high risk area like L&D... anything and everything can go wrong. plus, ob nurses are a different breed... pure and simple.

one of our docs said this "if a nurse can get a position in L&D, they almost never leave."

so i'm guessing you have some older, much more experienced nurses in there.

i'll probably be flamed for this, but it is possible that they didn't quite remember what it was like to be new at first. they probably could have been a little bit more, well, sensitive in their wording.

at our hospital, our nurses get 6 months L&D training. Period. If they need longer, they get it. It's too big an investement to waste to train someone for only three months because you can't have seen everything you need to see in that amount of time. 6 months in L&D is pushing it... you need plenty of experience before you're on your own.

actually, at our hospital, no one is ever hired straight into L&D without experience. since we do mother/baby couplet care, our nurses do everything... nursery, postpartum and L&D. so our GN's are hired into peds... and do postpartum and baby care until there is a position (it's rare).

but one thing our nurses on OB do say... there's always a difference between people when it comes to a vag check. the docs are always telling the moms... oh, you're dilated to a 2-3! and then he sends them from the office to the hospital... and they are a fingertip... then the doc comes in and starts a drip. the nurses always complain the docs and them have discrepencies when it comes to vag checks.

happens ALL THE TIME.

and, by the way, i've never done a vag check... so maybe i misunderstood the girls i've talked to... but i've had the nurses say to me that a vag check can sometimes be hard to estimate if the cervix (sp?) is stretchy.