Getting into L & D

[justdoiting]

Hi all,

I'm a BSN in NYC and I'm looking it get into L and D!

I have a little over a year of med surge experience and I was hoping you guys could give me some advice on how to get on an L and D unit (as I am finding that it is not very easy to get an interview without any prior experience)

any thoughts would be appreciated

Thanks in advance

[nagem_]

Are you able to transfer within your own hospital? Sometimes it's easiest to move around where you already work.

Otherwise work your connections .. get on LinkedIn or track people down on Facebook, etc to see if you know anyone with L&D connections. You might be surprised who's only a few degrees of separation away! Having someone down as a reference or a referral can help give you that extra push.

Keep your chin up! Good luck!

[RunBabyRN]

I found that just putting out feelers really paid off. I was working in another specialty, in outpatient, but landed the L&D job I have now. I think having worked at a freestanding birth center helped. Try to get certified as a lactation specialist (different from a lactation consultant), see if there are other roles within the periphery of L&D that may help you. Those roles have helped me a lot in my current job, and they asked me a lot about them when I interviewed.