[dawnreeves]

Hi All,

I'm thinking ahead of myself, since I'm only just starting school in january, but would love some thoughts and advice on L&D, especially advice on getting there. I'm 37, will be 40 by the time I get my RN, (ADN), so would really like to maximize and speed up my chances of being an L&D nurse.

I'd love to hear from some of you, how you got there, how I can work towards it, and how you like it. (Please give me both the good and the bad!)

Thanks!
Dawn

[mandy]

MY ADVICE TO YOU IS TO STUDY HARD AND COMPLETE NURSING SCHOOL. WHEN YOU GET A LITTLE FURTHER IN NURSING SCHOOL, LOOK INTO MAYBE GETTING A PART-TIME NURSING ASSIST JOB ON L/D IN ONE OF THE HOSPITALS. IF UNABLE TO HOLD A JOB DURING NURSING SCHOOL, JUST ASK TO VOLUNTEER OR OBSERVE WHEN YOU ARE ABLE TO AND BE SURE TO LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU ARE A NURSING STUDENT INTERESTED IN L/D. I AM AN ASSOC. DEGREE RN AND I AM THE NURSE MANAGER OF A L/D UNIT, NURSERY AND POSTPARTUM AND I TRUELY LOVE IT. THIS AREA OF NURSING IS TRUELY MY HEART. I WENT STRAIGHT INTO L/D RIGHT OUT OF NURSING SCHOOL AND HAVE BEEN DOING IT SINCE. I HAVE BEEN A NURSE FOR 3 YEARS NOW. AT TIMES, IT CAN BE HARD GETTING A JOB ON A L/D UNIT WHEN YOU ARE A NEW NURSE BUT TRY HARD AND I PROMISE IT WILL COME THROUGH, IT DID FOR ME. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS JUST EMAIL ME AT RN4BABE@AOL.COM

[NorthernRN]

As an experienced high risk L&D nurse, my advice is this: get a solid foundation in med/surg nsg, at least one year, and then look into OB positions. You get a wealth of experience in m/s that is necessary for your entire career, ie, various drugs, critical thinking skills, time management, a broad age range of patients, a broad range of disease processes, which will inevitably crop up on an OB patient. This will give you a foundation that will make you a solid OB nurse.....

Good luck in school!

[obnurseinNW]

My advice is to work hard and let everyone you know that your desire is to work in L & D. At the hospital I work they trained me but I also had 6 years of med surg nursing. If you are interested in relocating you can sometimes find jobs. Just don't give up!!! Sometimes it takes time to get there, but start making friends right away!