[babylove]

I,m a 27 year old mother of two who has just been accepted into nursing school. I have already taken the non-nursing courses (english, psych, ect.) and am really looking forward to starting the nursing clinicals. I already know what field of nursing I want to be - in l/d and/or nursery. I love all the aspects of pregnancy, labor, and infants and always have. I believe this is a field I would not only like but be good at. I understand many people say you should do med/surg before anything else, but my real interest is in materna/child care. Is this abnormal to know what type of nursing you want to do before finishing school? Also, I would really appreciate any tips on how to better my chances of getting into this field as soon as I'm finished with school. Thanks for any comments, suggestions and help you can provide.
BABYLOVE

[Nancy P]

L&D is an excellent choice. I've been doing it for 3 1/2 years and I love it!! I had no med-surg experience before entering L&D, mattter of fact, was straight out of nursing school. L&D was not my choice, but the Navy felt it was.....am so grateful they placed me there. As for suggestions, many new nurses enter L&D by just applying. Go for it!

[Luv2BRN]

Babylove, I have done L&D for five years now. There have been astronomical changes in this field since I have entered. I had two years of med surg before I entered into this field. That was by choice and I am very glad that I did. I am the nurse that my peers go to when we have a sick patient because I have that background knowledge. With the liability being placed on nurses these days, it is imperitive that you know all that you can. L&D is changing due to cut backs and shortages. The reason why people can now get hired right out of school is because there is a national shortage of ciritcal area nurses. I don't know if you are recieving your BSN, but I just finished at FSU. It was amazing to learn how liable I am in my everyday life. It is an AWESOME job and I love it very much, however, it is very stressful, demanding and requires a very high level of committment and reliability. I am the mother of two, also 27, and I feel pressure with this job more that I ever did. Good luck with your decision, but think about it long and hard, because once you're in, it's almost impossible to get out.

[LNDRN]

I have been a L&D nurse for 3 years and love it. I knew before I was in school that this is what I wanted to do and cannot imagine myself in any other area of nursing. Due to a major lay-off of nurses just before I graduated, jobs were hard to find. I started on a med-surg floor and worked there for 7 months. That experience, even though brief, was invaluable. There have been many times when other nurses have come to me for help hanging blood, or setting up a pca pump, etc. I have also worked with RNs who have only done L&D and have been wonderful. Study hard and learn something from each nurse you work with.