I want to follow my dream and make a difference! How do I get a job in L&D?

kathbabynurse · Nov 26, 2015

Hi Ally,

Yes it is hard to get into Labor and Delivery! But if it is your passion you should definetly go for it! I would encourage you to start over in Postpartum/Transition. Learn babies really well so you feel comfortable with them. Then get L & D trained. That's what I did. I ended up coming back to Postpartum after 2 years because I learned that I was too scared to stay on L & D. It is hard, but a great skill to have learned. Also I don't have the personality. It is stressful and I think you get to the 2 year mark and decide to stay or go.

SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN · Nov 27, 2015

L&D is a tough field, but if you really want it, there's no need to start on postpartum, especially if you manage to get hired on L&D right away. Starting on postpartum can be a great way to get your foot in the door if you can't get hired into L&D, but I've found that there's a big difference between L&D and postpartum nurses, and most don't relish the thought of being floated to the other specialty. Personally, if there weren't an L&D aspect to women's health, I wouldn't be at all interested in working women's health, and if I had to work night shift on postpartum, I'd need intravenous caffeine to keep me awake!

As far as getting hired, the job market is tough. In nursing school, try to get to know the L&D nurses on the floor where you have clinicals. See if you can introduce yourself to the floor manager and let them know you're really, really interested in working there after school. Ask them if they'd be able to hire you or if they have a nurse extern/internship program for new grads.

While I think your passion is great, I'd advise you to keep two things in mind: first, you are going into a very wide career field, and second, you are going to be dealing in real time with real people.

While it's great to know and acknowledge your passion, keep your eyes open while you're in nursing school for areas of nursing that you enjoy. Working as an L&D nurse is certainly different than having your own babies and researching the process thereof. You may find that L&D really isn't your thing once you see what it actually entails. Make sure before you start your schooling that you're OK with that and try to keep your options open.

On the second point, please note that L&D can be a very challenging field. Be prepared for everything that goes along with the human experience--both good and bad. Certainly not all L&D experiences are roses and sunshine, no matter how good you try to make them.

https://cervixwithasmile.wordpress.com/2015/10/03/the-happiest-job-on-earth/

Ally33007 · Nov 30, 2015

Thank you both for all.your information. There are a few thing I am.aware of that scare me. For example, I was in the room with my.laboring friend when her baby died, so I know bad things could and do.happen in that sense. I am scared of that, and learning how to deal with angered laboring women. I have seen nurses treat first time.mothers so rude and no regard for their feelings. The nurse said, "I have been doing this for 20 years." And that's great, but the patient hasn't and they are scared. It's important.to remember their feelings too.I would love to get to be that person's nurse instead of.some.of the nurses I have seen. But I havnt looked at it from the other perspective either!what if I don't like it !? So thank you for that! I will keep my eyes open and thank you for all.your much needed advice! Sorry my "period" button is right next to my space bar on my.kindle, so there are random periods everywhere! Lol

turtlesRcool · Dec 7, 2015

You sound like me. I got into nursing because of my experiences as a patient when my sons were born. At the hospital where I work, new grad nurses do their orientation on some sort of med-surg floor and then bid into different departments, even if what they really want is L&D. The thinking is that a woman's other health issues don't go away when she's in labor, so it's wise to be trained (at least to a basic degree) in general adult med-surg.

So, I went into my job thinking I'd be beating down the door to Women & Infants as soon as humanly possible. When I started at the hospital, I was put on a telemetry floor, even though I had NO interest in cardiac nursing. I was just going to put in my 3 months and then try to get down to L&D. But after a few weeks, I came to love telemetry. Then my orientation/probation came to an end, and I decided to bid into the float pool rather than L&D. My heart is still in L&D, but right now I'm focused on getting a really broad background to carry with me. Since my hospital has a high-acuity NICU, it gets complicated deliveries. My time on telemetry means I'll be ready for a laboring mother who needs to be on a heart monitor.

I'm not saying don't go for L&D. If that's where your passion is, you should definitely go for it. All I'm saying is that once you get into nursing you might fall in love with another area, or at least be intrigued by other specialties that will build the foundation of your nursing practice while you wait for a position in L&D to open up.

kdkout, BSN, RN · Dec 8, 2015

Since you've never done L&D before, you dont really know if you'll like it or not. Maybe you'll love it, maybe you wont. Maybe it'll turn out to be nothing like you thought it would be.....either way you should try it and see!

Think about why you want to go into it & if you are being realistic. Every area of nursing has good and bad things about it. Most of us have been patients & know how it feels from both sides. Remember that - remember how it feels to be a patient. Be the nurse you'd want to have.

Also, that nurse who made the comment about "being a nurse for 20 years".....well, maybe she was a burn out & sucked...but it's possible that your friend was scared and said something that didnt make sense and the nurse was trying to establish trust....or the nurse was trying to point out that "I want you to do ___ because it will help you with ____ and I know this because I've been doing this for 20 years."

I liked doing L & D but didnt love it.....because there really is an art to it, if you want to do it well. I was good at it but not great. You know the great ones when you see them work. For some women, there's a point that you have to "get in their face" a bit and take over when s@$t is hitting the fan. I always knew when that time was with some patients, but wasnt comfortable doing that.....so I'd find somebody who could.

You never know what a job will be like until you're doing it....and the culture of a unit is just as important as the job itself. If you have a choice, try to get a job where you know the "culture" is healthy - sometimes that takes years and years. It almost doesnt matter what you do if you work with good people and there's a sense of teamwork & camaraderie. Good luck!

MidwifeAPRN219, MSN, RN, APRN, CNM · Dec 10, 2015

I got "bit by the birth bug" after having a poor experience with my first child. I knew this was an area that I wanted to work in to help make a difference. Again, this was prior to nursing school. So I went to a doula workshop to become a doula. Worked as a doula for several years. Attended several birth related workshops, became a member of several birth related professional organizations, including nursing organizations such as ACNM and AWHONN (ACNM because I have future plans to become a Nurse-Midwife, but is a great resource either way!). Got certified in Neonatal resuscitation. Any school work that I had freedom (which was quite often) to choose the subject, I did r/t OB/newborn. This eventually gave me an opportunity to do a poster presentation for an OB/GYN symposium that I was invited to present... Also got certified in ACLS. Did AWHONN's introduction to fetal heart monitoring...

With that being said, I went above and beyond of what they would expect a new grad to have coming out of nursing school. They saw my passion, my commitment to working in OB (as it is a lifelong career for me, not just a paying job right out of school), and everything I had done even PRIOR to nursing school to get myself in this career field. I received a job offer prior to graduating nursing school for L&D.

However, I will say that you may find another area of nursing you love besides OB during school. It took until my last semester to find an area of nursing that if I couldn't work OB, that I would be happy working. However, my first choice was OB and that was truly the area I wanted to work...and everyone knew that...and THAT created problems too. When I went to a recruiting event that had nurse managers from the hospital, they asked my area of interest and I was honest...and because of that, they looked the other way. I had pretty much cornered myself into one area of nursing because of how much I specialized prior to and during school. They saw where my passion truly was and they of course were looking for that person who was passionate about their department.

I feel that my history in working the area, my passion, and my efforts to gain more knowledge is what got me the job. New grads in L&D is possible and the position isn't even in a new grad residency.

kdkout, BSN, RN · Dec 10, 2015

To "SoldierNurse22:'

I read the link you posted "Cervix with a Smile." It's phenomenal. Cant recommend it enough! I've never seen a more realistic, honest depiction of what L & D is really like, Bravo!