OB opportunities outside hospital

[ColleenS401]

Hello! I am a L&D nurse looking for information on OB/GYN nursing opportunities outside of the hospital. I'm not quite ready to leave the bedside; however, I know that I will not want to do bedside for forever and am interested in my options outside of the hospital. I have my BSN and am not completely opposed to going back for my MSN (I just don't know what I would want to do with it). At this time, I am not interested in becoming an NP.

I have heard of OB/GYN case managers. Could anyone elaborate on that position?

Any and all information you guys have on out-of-hospital positions would be much appreciated! Thanks!

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Planned Parenthood was the first thing that came to mind.

[cayenne06, MSN, CNM]

I work at PP. We do have a few nurses but not many. Most of them work at the surgical centers, so you have to be ok with doing direct abortion care (which is wonderful, satisfying work- but not for everyone). Most OBGYN offices have a nurse or two on staff- I did that for a while, the pay is not as good as inpatient but the hours are great, and I enjoyed the job. I also did maternal/child postpartum home visits for a short while.

When I finished CNM school, I almost took a job at a birth center, and they hired RNs as birth assistants. Still technically bedside care, but vastly different than working on an LDRP floor!

[ColleenS401]

Thanks for all the ideas!! I've definitely thought about a birth center; however, the hours are still unpredictable. Which is my main reason for looking into opportunities outside of the hospital (I love patient care. Just hate working nights, weekends, and holidays). Like you said, OB/GYN office hours are wonderful but pay is bad I'll keep researching and brainstorming. No decision needs to be made right now. Thanks for you input!