Preceptorship

firstinfamily, RN · Nov 27, 2014

Welcome to AN StudentMom. I am probably not the best one to answer this question as the preceptorships were not part of my program eons ago. I wonder why your instructor referred you for the Postpartum unit? Did she think you would thrive in that environment or did you mention that you might be interested in PostPartum? I do not know how many student nurses precept in specialty areas. It does seem it would be better for you if you could precept in a med-surg, or med/tele type unit. I also do not know how many employers actually take into consideration where you do your preceptorship. It seems a lot of new grads had difficulty getting positions this year, perhaps some of them can give you some hints on how they got their positions. Good Luck!!

RNJill · Nov 27, 2014

It's hard to say if it will put you at a disadvantage. Looking on the positive side, it could put you at an advantage if you were to apply for a postpartum job right after graduation (I have a good friend from nursing school that did her final practicum almost exclusively in the ED and landed a job as an ER nurse immediately after graduation). However, I see how as it is a narrower area that doesn't include even other related areas (i.e., L&D) you are justifiably concerned. Would it be possible to have the best of both worlds (so to speak) and see about arranging for some of your time to be spent in another area? Maybe half (or even a third) of the time in med-surg, L&D or NICU? It is probably worth asking your instructor about. As a new grad NP who is now job searching, having two clinical settings one semester (instead of just the typical single site) has actually gotten me perhaps more interviews because, quite simply, it is more experience under my belt (even if it is "just" clinical).

RunBabyRN · Nov 27, 2014

I precepted in postpartum, and was offered a job halfway through. Sadly, there was a hiring freeze, so the manager had to rescind the offer (neither of us was very happy about it). New grads are VERY rarely hired into L&D. More start in PP and move into L&D with time. You might even float into L&D (we did occasionally).

Preceptorship is about WAY more than building skills. There is A LOT of patient teaching, addressing psychosocial issues, recognizing patients who might decomp on you (the mom who was on mag, has been bleeding, refuses to pee, has bonding issues, or the baby with temp control issues, feeding issues...), lots of time management, full assessments, discharge planning, follow up phone calls, handling family dynamics... Plenty of this pertains to other areas of nursing, but if women's health/NICU is your passion, this could be a great opportunity. Mine helped me to get a job at a freestanding birth center recently. Most of the job is postpartum care. We are called in when the CNM feels that birth is imminent, arrive about an hour prior (assuming the CNM was EXACTLY right), are there for the birth, and support mom, baby and family through the postpartum period, including when the CNM leaves. We are in charge of when the family discharges, making sure the breastfeeding is going well, that they have the resources they need, that they know what to look for when something is wrong, etc. There is a lot of patient advocacy, even TO the patient, in postpartum. I cannot tell you how many moms have felt like they need to entertain guests, any guests that decide to stop by at home. I suggest (obviously can't make sure they follow through) that they put a sign on the door for when they are not accepting guests (like when they are sleeping or just plain not up for it), that all guests bring a meal and perform a chore, no guests without advance notice (including grandparents), and that there be a time limit on guest visits when they do occur.