I am a student nurse graduating in May of 2007. My firm goal is to get my first job on a postpartum mother/baby unit. My nursing instructor has encouraged me to get NRP certification before graduation in order to distinguish my resume from other applicants who are new nurses.

I have registered for the class for January 31st. I ordered the book and DVD from the NRP website. I plan on studying before the class so I can follow along better, as I don't have any real clinical experience which may have helped me through the class.

Is this something a student can follow along and get? Will I be completely lost? I am a good student and did very well in my maternity clinical and class.

In reality, taking the NRP course before you start work is putting the cart before the horse. There are things that you have to have hands on to understand and do during the practicum/mock codes. Most hospitals send their new nurses to NRP during their orientation as part of their training and you won't be able to get CEU's as you aren't licensed yet and the hospital may have you repeat the course as you took it as a student. I would have checked with the hospitals I was going to apply to as see what they had to say.

I echo BittyBabyGrower's sentiments. I would wait until you start work. I applaud you for wanting to get all your ducks in a row but employers usually give you a year to get NRP-certified. It will definitely make more sense to you once you have been on your own awhile as a nurse. That said, make sure you are never too far from someone who is certified in case something does happen. Hopefully nothing will but there are no guarantees!!

Best of luck.

Thanks for your response. I wonder why my instructor would recommend this then? Does it make me a more marketable candidate for a mother/baby job if I have it? Is there any harm in getting it now?

I don't mind repeating it once I am employed. I am using the certification more as a marketing tool to show them how serious I am about this specialty of nursing. It is sort of silly in a way, as I have no hands-on experience during a code, so I am fairly certain I would have to repeat it anyway. I don't need CEU's right now.

There aren't a lot of things that are within my power as a student nurse to gain employment. So far, I have achieved excellent grades and clinical evaluations. I have my healthcare provider CPR certification and I am joining AWHONN. I am a fulltime mother and am unable to work/intern/extern at this time. So I am just doing as much as I can to get an edge for when I am employable, after getting my license.

Are there other things you would suggest?

Joining AWHONN is a very good idea. Also, even if you don't take the NRP class, it won't hurt you to study the books/DVD anyway.

I don't think it would hurt to get your NRP certification. Yes the material might make more sense to you once you are working, but that doesn't mean you won't "get it" or will have to retake it. In my opinion the class itself is very straightforward and easy to follow. I say go for it.

Good luck!

I am graduating at the same time as you and I got my NRP certification. It wasn't at all difficult, it's just like CPR. Although I may not be able to do a mega-code as well as a seasoned nurse, I have the skill set. I have also never done CPR but I have the skills.

I had the thought that it might help with the job search also. Like you I am trying to break into OB. I figure at a minimim if they were choosing between me and someone else it might give me a little boost. I also just got a little bogged down in med surg and it was a boost to get to do something OB related for a couple of days.

As far as what you can do, I would recommend becoming a doula or certified lactation educator from CAPPA (CAPPA - Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association). I have done both and my instructors seem to think that will help in the job search, not to mention made my OB clinicals much easier. The lactation educator is not nearly the same as being a lactation consultant but it gives you a fantastic background to help with breastfeeding and can be a good stepping stone to IBCLC if your're interested in that.

I am also a mother of two young ones and it is tough to squeeze all this in on top of nursing school. I am soooooo excited to graduate and get where I want to be though.

Thanks for your response. I wonder why my instructor would recommend this then? Does it make me a more marketable candidate for a mother/baby job if I have it? Is there any harm in getting it now?

I don't mind repeating it once I am employed. I am using the certification more as a marketing tool to show them how serious I am about this specialty of nursing. It is sort of silly in a way, as I have no hands-on experience during a code, so I am fairly certain I would have to repeat it anyway. I don't need CEU's right now.

There aren't a lot of things that are within my power as a student nurse to gain employment. So far, I have achieved excellent grades and clinical evaluations. I have my healthcare provider CPR certification and I am joining AWHONN. I am a fulltime mother and am unable to work/intern/extern at this time. So I am just doing as much as I can to get an edge for when I am employable, after getting my license.

Are there other things you would suggest?

I am glad that you asked this question b/c my friends and I have been talking about the same thing b/c instructors are encouraging us to get certs in acls, pals etc. whatever relates to where we want to work. So it's nice to see the responses from more experienced nurses.

Yes, you can go ahead and get the certification, but I don't think it is necessary. It may make you more marketable; it may not.

What I did several years ago was put in my cover letter that I was willing and eager to take NRP and any other training my employer thought would be valuable. This showed that I was aware enough of the job duties to know such cerification existed and was open to any and all avenues available to increase and enhance my skills.

In truth, I don't know how highly an employer would regard NRP training in someone who has no experience. With no background and no outlet to use the skill, it really is just so much book learning. By all means, get the book and become familiar with the terminology (get the latest one as there have been recent changes), but going further is probably not necessary.

Two months after I was hired (and had some hands-on with real newborns), I took the course through my employer and that timing seemed just about perfect.

Whatever you do, I wish you the best.

This is a timely question for me too! I keep hearing that I should take the course, but I wondered if it would actually make a difference...

I am doing an internship at a birth center this summer though. Perhaps I'll check with them to see if it's something I'll do while I'm there.