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Discussion

Advice about Senior Practicum

Hello All,

I'm in semester 3 of 4 in nursing school. I've been thinking a lot lately about what area I want to do my practicum in. My goal after graduation is to get a job in L&D and eventually go back to school to become a CNM. Since I will be working in a small hospital when I graduate (service cancel-able loan) that doesn't hire L&D nurses like that I've excepted the fact that I might have to work in either Med-Surg or ER. I'm really not into the emergency room even though I haven't had much experience there. Med-Surg is ok. I had pretty good clinical experience there but I never would have saw myself working in this area. I definitely don't want to do ICU or critical care. So my dilemma is should I work in L&D for my practicum to get the experience in the department that I ultimately want to end up at or should I work in Med-Surg or ED to get the experience. I know even if I did Med-Surg I would gain valuable experience. I just wanted to start thinking about this early since I know they are going to be asking us to let them know what we want to do soon. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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    yes- if you want to work in L&D when you graduate then freak yeah that is where you should do your practicum!!!! You can get to know the managers and staff that work there and use this opportunity as a stepping stone, then you could potentially have a job lined up with them when you graduate because they already know you and like you:).

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    If your goal is L&D, why on Earth would you want to work anywhere else??? If given a choice and a chance, go to L&D.

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    If you will not be able to work at your small hospital in L&D, and you want your loan cancelled, go ahead and do your practicum in med-surg. Med-surg will give you a little bit of everything, and prepare you for other jobs later. You will still have codes, etc., just as in the ER, but you will also continue the patient's care, instead of sending them home or to another unit. Med-surg will also give you more of the "whole body" experience, where in the ER you concentrate mostly on the main issue at hand.

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    I would say do what you think you will love-- L&D. Med/surg is great for the experience and gets you a lot of skills, but you are going to grow as a nurse in either place. For me at least, my final semester preceptorship was as much about learning time management and organization as it was about the actual hands-on skills. I struggled to decide between pediatrics (what I wanted) and med/surg (what everyone said I should do for experience's sake). I chose a pediatric unit, and I loved it.

    If you think you still really need to work on your technical skills, it might be good to go with a med/surg floor... But I would not let anything stop you if you think your real passion is in labor and delivery. :)

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    No, no, no, my friend did hers in L&D and right after graduation they hired her. In many cases it's who you know that counts ... go to L&D.

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    Do it in L&D. As someone said, you will begin to develop professional relationships there.

    And even if you have to start in M/S, you'll get an orientation there after they hire you. No need to waste your practicum in that unit.

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    • Author

    I LOVE the advice!! :) Thanks so much! Yes, my heart is in L&D so that's what I think I will request. If I can't get there I guess I will go with Med-Surg.

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    • Expert

    I also recommend L&D. If you don't take the opportunity now to get your foot in the door there, you may never get a chance to work there. Popular units like that sometimes have the luxury of ONLY hiring people who have some experience in the area. General med/surg nurses may have to wait in a long line to get a chance to transfer in. Get the experience now while you have the chance. It may be the best chance you get.

    Yes, you may need to take a med/surg job when you graduate ... but at least you'll have that L&D experience in your background that might help you transfer into L& D later. And who knows?... you might get lucky and get offered a new grad job there if they really like you.

    That L&D experience might also help you land a job on a women's unit or in a nursery after graduation -- or some similarly related field that you would enjoy.

    While you are in L&D as a student, take advantage of the opportunity to impress them with what a wonderful coworker you would be. In addition, schedule a sit-down meeting with the Nurse Manager to ask her for advice about specializing in that field. Ask her what she would recommend for your first job, etc. That not only shows you how interested you are, it sets you on the right path to be hired for that unit later.

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    • Author

    That's great advice! I've never thought at it like that. I will definitely take all that you have said into consideration. Thanks!

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