Am I being unrealistic? Is nursing maybe not for me?

[beckyboo80]

Hi guys.

So I'm going to honest here. I'm interested in nursing, but I'm picky with the department I'd like to work in. I'm really only interested in L&D or mom/baby. Not that I'd refuse other units, but those are the ones that made me want to go into nursing. When I had my first baby 13 years ago I remember thinking how I would love to work in that unit. I have three kids and each time I've thought the same thing. FINALLY this year I started prereqs. I'm still pretty young...33. :)

Anyway. Here's the problem. I'm nervous that I'm setting myself up for disappointment. I'm scared I'll get stuck working in another unit that doesn't interest me at all. I can't imagine myself cleaning old men's poo and things like that. LOL

So I wonder if maybe nursing isn't for me given that I'm so intrigued with one area and not at all with the others. Maybe this will change but at this very moment i feel that if I graduate and am unable to find a job in L&D or postpartum I'll want ti give up nursing all together. Or maybe in school I'll realize I love another unit, who knows.

Your thoughts?

Oh and I also wanted to ask (someone suggested this to me), is there a way I can work in one of those units NOT being a nurse just to get a feel for it and see if it's anything like I picture? I live in CA and had my babies at Kaiser and I just assumed all the ladies were nurses but maybe not?

[loriangel14, RN]

You also need to realize that you will have to deal with cleaning up in continent patients, at least while you are in school.If you don't get your dream job right out of school you will likely have to deal with bodily fluids.

It may depend on the facility but mnay places require general experience before they will hire in L&D.

[Marsha238612]

I'm just staring nursing school this January and honestly All I want is to get a job after graduating. I like you, live in a really new-grad saturated area and picking a speciality right after graduating does seems a bit unrealistic IMO.

That said, it's not impossible. And of course I will try to apply to my dream job, but I won't shut the door on any other "unlikely" options.

Besides, who knows once you do start nursing school you might realize there are other specialties you like. Anyways don't get discouraged if you don't find your dream nursing job immediately, work hard and you'll get there :)

Good luck

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[Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN]

...and just remember that old men were babies once, too :)

[DoeRN]

You may still have to clean up poo in L&D.

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[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

No, you're NOT interesting in nursing. You are interested in playing a role that you observed during a very happy time (childbirth).

Even if your were to obtain a coveted L&D position, you would clean many old man's poo, before you got there.

Labor and delivery is actually an intense field.Nursing observations and judgement can not only effect the life of the mother, but of an unborn child.

Don't go into nursing to fulfill a pre-mediated role, nursing does not work that way.

[Boxer Mama]

You sound a lot like me when I started taking my prereqs for school and for the exact reasons! But, many classes later and my first quarter of nursing school done, my thinking very much has changed! Even though I have yet to start my clinical rotations, I am so excited to experience other aspects of nursing that I have not considered. L&D is now on the lower end of my list of desired positions. I have spoken with nurses that work in units that I had never even heard of before, and their jobs are so important! To be honest, I am going to graduate with loans that need will need payments, so I will be thrilled to get a hospital job - any job - since the job market is so tight and there is not a nursing shortage. Just keep your mind open as you go through school!

If you can afford to be unemployed after investing the time and money going to nursing school, go for it. If you're willing to do something you don't love, go for it. If you're willing to set a long-term goal and make the sacrifices necessary to get there, go for it.

To your question of being realistic, though... it is unrealistic to presume that you're going to go to nursing school and step directly from your pinning ceremony into the local Kaiser's L&D/Ob unit... can't say it won't happen but it's very unlikely.

[Dranger]

You will set yourself up for fail if you gun for one area out of the gate. No offense to L&D or M/B but you don't use the wide range of nursing skills you are expected to perform on a daily basis in most units. I remember at my hospital orientation there was a OB nurse with 1 year experience who was scared to death to go to a tele unit because she said most of her nursing skills were rusty. This is why I recommend med surg or crit care off of the bat to really develop your critical thinking.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

You're going to need to clean up some old men's poo and other bodily secretions before you can get through nursing school and yes, you may have to take a job in an area that doesn't interest you. Especially if you're serious about supporting your family. It sounds to me as though you have some growing up to do, for all that you're in your 30s and have three children.

[IrishIzCPNP, MSN, RN, APRN, NP]

You will set yourself up for fail if you gun for one area out of the gate. No offense to L&D or M/B but you don't use the wide range of nursing skills you are expected to perform on a daily basis in most units. I remember at my hospital orientation there was a OB nurse with 1 year experience who was scared to death to go to a tele unit because she said most of her nursing skills were rusty. This is why I recommend med surg or crit care off of the bat to really develop your critical thinking.

As an L&D nurse...I'll beg to differ. People have no clue what we do...no clue.

[Fiona59]

When I started nursing school, I thought my future lay in Geriatrics. Nope.

With one years hard earned experience I wound up on my hospital's postpartum unit. Purely because it was the only way into the Women's Health department. I enjoyed it most of the time. Patients usually weigh less than 10 pounds, very few require codes calling. BUT and there is a big but caring for a drug addict who has just had her third child made a provincial ward is something that you will never be prepared for. Looking after a mother who had a still birth due to her drug use is another event that sticks out. She was only on the unit for a few hours until they could find a bed for her on the Gynie floor. These are patients you will meet sometime in the working life of L&D or postpartum nurse. People you really want to judge but you can't because there goes I bar the grace of God. Young girls becoming mothers who are still children themselves.

Everyone thinks it's a happy unit. It's not. You break up family disputes, warring grandmothers are a thrill.

I'm glad you had happy positive experiences when you gave birth but the postpartum floor nurses see life at it's best and worst.

It turns out I work with a mainly Geriatric population now, but not in the way I thought I would when I started this journey. I'll probably change routes again before I retire.

[chrisrn24]

No, you're NOT interesting in nursing. You are interested in playing a role that you observed during a very happy time (childbirth).

Even if your were to obtain a coveted L&D position, you would clean many old man's poo, before you got there.

Labor and delivery is actually an intense field.Nursing observations and judgement can not only effect the life of the mother, but of an unborn child.

Don't go into nursing to fulfill a pre-mediated role, nursing does not work that way.

I think you nailed it.

OP nursing is hard work and many times you have to go where the jobs are and may have to take a job in a field you're not too into.