I got into maternity nursing after I burned out in another area. I spent 28 years in long term care so I went from one end of the spectrum to the other. L&D can be very stressful, not unlike the ER. I think I kind of thrive on the stress. On ...
Our unit is combined L&D, PP and nursery. Everyone is cross-trained and I started in L&D. That is still my favorite place to be but sometimes PP is a nice break from the chaos that L&D can be. Good luck with getting into L&D.
Our moms stay 2 hours after the doc is finished doing whatever he is doing - like stitching. The baby stays with mom for about an hour then goes to the nursery where they do all the other measurements, give Vit. K, Hep B and do a gestational age ass...
To the tune of Jungle Bells: Dashing room to room checking vital signs cervix getting thin visitors walking in ha ha ha Phone it keeps ringing MD checking in I need a drink or a break right now My nerves are getting thin Cervix closed She's a prime T...
Most newborns are not at risk for contracting Hep B as they are not having sex or using IV drugs. I think it is recommended because they are a captive audience, so to speak. If the mother is HbsAg postive, then that is a different story. Otherwise...
We have no openings on our unit and haven't had any for some time. I work casual labor and am not getting many hours on OB and now cannot get a regular part-time job. So I pick up some hours on med-surg and rehab. I think there are just fewer mate...
We do not float off our OB unit. I am a casual nurse so I sometimes volunteer on other units, but it has nothing to do with working on my unit and I don't do both on the same day. But we have had MRSA mothers on our unit and last week, we had a pt....
After reading this thread, I think I am going to propose self scheduling, or at least a little more input from the staff about the schedule. I know we always have to have someone working that can scrub and someone that can circulate and someone that...
When I was pregnant with my first, no one was doing routine US. But many people had little ways of predicting the sex of the baby and everyone was predicting boy. Just before delivery, I was given general anesthesia and my husband was not in the de...
We admit for ROM. For contractions, we have a 2 hour protocol. We monitor, check the cervix and then re-check in 2 hours. If no cervical change, then pt. can go home without being seen by doc. Sometimes the doc will want us to keep the pt. overni...
I have to agree with a previous poster - it depends more on the doctor than the nurse. You should be good with a midwife, though. We see very few natural births where I work and that is because we don't have any MD's who are supportive of natural b...
Nurses on our OB unit are not floated to any other unit. Of course, if the census is low, we may be told to stay home. I work med-surg sometimes for extra money but only when I am not scheduled on OB. On OB, we have to change into scrubs at work a...
I am not a big proponent of early vaccines for infants. Their immune systems are not that well developed. The only reason to give Hep B to newborns is that they are a captive audience. Breast feeding will protect the little ones from many diseases...