what to do

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some advice to give me some inner peace with a decision I have to make. I have been a nurse for 10 years-with the majority of my experience in ICU, though I started in mental health. I recently (10 months ago) took a per diem position on L&D. It was not my first choice; I would have preferred mental health but there were no available positions at the time and I needed a change from ICU. I got accepted to my psychiatric mental health NP program starting next semester, as this is what I always thought I wanted. The thing is; I am loving L&D and do not want to leave. But then I think, what is the point if I'm not going to be a midwife (I could never handle that schedule). My question is: Do you think I can or should stay on L&D while I work toward my pmhnp. I just turned down a job shadowing experience on mental health which may have lead to a position. The other concern I have is that I am currently a per diem on L &Da nd the flexibility is wonderful for me to work around my upcoming course load. It is not an ideal time for me to start a full time orientation process to mental health and get to know new coworkers, policies, etc. The other thing being that as I am a new OB nurse: will working once or twice a week be enough to keep me competent enough to work? Recently a coworker of mine expressed concern that I seemed unsure of myself and wondered if I needed additional orientation to gain exposure to situations I have not yet encountered. I was really upset by this as I have been working my ass off and thought I was doing a good job having been off orientation for 8 months, handling situations as well as can be expected-so I thought. That is a whole other discussion. My manager thinks I'm doing great and I have been getting good feedback from most people and have had no other complaints. I do ask a lot of questions and seek out help when needed. I thought that was a good thing, but according to some, it makes people distrustful and unsure of my knowledge. I know I need to work more to get more experience/confidence, but I can't work too many hrs and sacrifice my school. I guess I just need to hear that its ok to love 2 areas of nursing at once and that I can still work toward my goal of becoming a pmhnp working 12-16 hrs a week on L&D. Thanks in advance for anyone taking the time to read this and reply. Sorry for the length and lack of editing!