Can you work in L&D as an LPN?

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Updated:   Published

Specializes in Orthopedics.

I am wondering if you can work in Labor and Delivery as an LPN?? WHen I finish school I will be an LPN and would like to work in labor and delivery but don't know if you can or if you have to be an RN. Can anybody answer my question??

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Every hospital I have ever worked at will only hire RN's for L&D. That was in Austin and Georgetown, Texas. That is not to say another area in the US will not hire an LPN. You just have to check and see.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, IM, OB/GYN, neuro, GI.

The only position that I they can have in my area is postpartum which is rare. They usually want RN's because the OB classes they have are more in depth than the LPN programs. I know that we were taught very basic assessment skills and an overview of pregnacy. Plus our clinical was only two weeks long (40 hours).

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Specializes in Cardiac, NICU, ED.

My hospital does not use LPNs as L&D nurses, however, they are utilized in the well-baby nursery.

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One of my former classmates works as a new grad LPN in L&D for a City hospital in New York. I guess it all depends on the area and the facility you are working for.

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Specializes in LTC, MDS, Education.

I would think you may have a decent chance since you seem to be very motivated. You may not get it right away. Some have worked in OB/GYN offices for a while. If you sell yourself the right way during the interview.......Also if you are willing to work an unpopular shift and are very flexible, that may help too. Good luck to you! :nurse:

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Specializes in psych. rehab nursing, float pool.

My understanding is LPN's are no longer used in labor and delivery they are used in postpartum and nursery.

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Specializes in Labor & Delivery.

I work in a small rural hospital in the southeast. We have an LPN on nights and one on days. The rest of the nursing staff are RN's. The LPN's on our unit are able to care for nursery and Postpartum pt's. They assist with labor checks and laboring pt's along with the RN assigned to those pt's. This is the only hospital i've ever worked in that uses LPN's in L&D. This is an integrated unit though. The other hospitals iv'e been in have seperate L&D, PP and nursery.

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I live in NY and we do have some LPNs working in the DR, they scrub for sections and do some other jobs. Otherwise we don't hire LPNs anymore. They do not work in post partum or the nursey.

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Specializes in Orthopedics.

Thank you all very very much for answering my question...I live around Tacoma, Washington and I'm not sure if they use LPN's in L&D, I would have to check around when I finish school....thanks again!!

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We have LVNs that work in Postpartum. We do however have one that has her NRP cert so we use her to "catch" babies sometimes in labor and delivery. We have also used our LVNs to work alongside an RN in our triage department. It takes a special LVN to work in triage. The ones we have are excellent. They start IVs, do discharge teaching, hook pts up to monitors and draw blood. I love working with them!

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Specializes in L&D.

We had two LPNs on my L&D unit in NYC. One had been there since Jesus was a boy, and one was a reasonably new hire, fresh out of school. They put pt's on the monitors and did VS for triage, placed IVs, drew labs, cared for ante and postpartum pts when it was too busy for the primary RN to keep them (only RNs could admit & discharge), prepped/transfered pts to postpartum and scrubbed in for c/s, BTL and hys pretty much all the time.

They were pretty abused, really. We didn't have OR techs on eve and nite shift so they mainly were held on to for scrubbing in. Misuse of resources.

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