C-EFM with no L&D experience

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Hi everyone. I’m a newer nurse with 6 months of experience in acute care. I’m trying to leave my current facility; it’s a sinking ship and it’s just getting worse and worse. I know it looks bad leaving after 6 months so I really want my next job to work out and be long term. The plan was to do 1 year med surg then go into labor and delivery but I think it’s better if I leave now. I’ve applied at a few places with no luck. I saw another post that suggested getting a fetal monitoring certification. The requirements are just an RN license so my question is, is this a good place to start? If so, what’s the best way to study for the EMF exam? Any insight is appreciated. Thanks!

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Specializes in Women’s Health.

I would start with the Introduction, Intermediate, and Advanced fetal Monitoring courses offered by AWHONN before tackling the EFM certification from NCC. I’m currently studying for the exam myself and hear it’s pretty difficult even with L&D experience. The AWHONN courses will give you basic and foundational knowledge of fetal monitoring.

As far a studying for the exam, I’m using Mosby’s pocket guide to fetal Monitoring. Also they have practice questions on the NCC website and you can pay for practice exams on https://www.ccprwebsite.org/cp_product.cfm?i=200

Good luck!

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

I agree with Babeinboots. A certification demonstrates expertise in in a subject, and you can't be an expert in something you've never done. I would also add that intermediate fetal monitoring is really geared towards nurses who have been working in L&D and have a foundation in fetal monitor interpretation. I would suggest taking the intro to EFM course, and I HIGHLY recommend the Mosby book that the other poster suggested.

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The best way I've learned EFM was to actually utilize it in practice. If you can get a position with any L&D unit they would train you on the spot to learn EFM. If you would like to attempt to learn EFM before taking a position in L&D, that would ease the learning curve for you when you do apply for a RN staff position.

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A good way to show you're serious about becoming an obstetric nurse is to join our professional organization, AWHONN. You can register and take an introductory fetal monitoring course through them. You'll also get subscriptions to their 2 journals and you can become familiar with EBP for our field.

I haven't taken the C-EFM exam yet but am prepping to take it prob in the fall. I just sat for the RNC-OB exam after 4 years of experience. I think you need a lot of hands on experience before taking either test, though it's a good idea to seek certifications in any field.

Six months of experience is not nothing - I got hired right out of nursing school so 6-12 months of experience will really help you!

Good luck!

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I agree with the other posters that Intro to Fetal Monitoring by AWHONN is a better option for you right now! It’s better to take a certification exam when you use and apply it every day, plus it’s expensive so your med surg floor may not reimburse you for it since it’s not related to their floor. Things I did to stand out for my L&D interview were the AWHONN intro to fetal monitoring, NRP certify, and attend a doula workshop. Those things seemed to help me a lot! ? As far as studying for the C-EFM I mainly used the AWHONN fetal monitoring book but also the mosbys pocket guide. Good luck!

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Hi Nursex23,

Did you ever end up taking the exam? ?

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On 6/4/2020 at 7:03 PM, Jnn8nrs said:

Hi Nursex23,

Did you ever end up taking the exam? ?

I did not. I ended up finding something outside of L&D that works best for my family and me.

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