considering Nursing: questions

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · May 5, 2011

As a nurse, you will encounter mothers and babies if you work in hospital units such as postpartum, the newborn nursery, L&D, pediatrics, the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit), and the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). Outside of the hospital, you will encounter mothers and babies if you do pediatric home care or work in the doctors office of a pediatrician.

A person can be a nurse all of their working career and never once work in an ER. The ER is considered a nursing specialty and is difficult for a new nurse to be hired into, anyway.

If you work in a hospital, you will need to learn how to deal with IVs, needles, blood, poop, and so forth. However, you'll become desensitized to this stuff with the passage of time. Good luck to you!

alphabetsoup · May 5, 2011

No, there is no mandatory requirement to work in the ER. Yes, you might want to reconsider if you do not do well with "blood and guts". You would see a fair amount of blood, body fluids, and no longer needed placentas in Labor and Delivery. Nurses work in Labor and Delivery, as doulas and midwives, in post-partum care, home care, and in public health clinics. You also could work in a NICU with moms and babies although the babies are very ill. I am sure there are a few other areas as well.

I admire you for wanting to work with maternity. However, do be aware that this is typically considered a "higher risk" area for lawsuits. This is something most young people may not contemplate. Not to discourage you though but some nurses tend to shy away for that reason.

You also need to think about how you feel about certain things that are connected to maternity nursing. Not every baby is healthy and not every birth ends with a happy ending. There are also reproductive issues that you might have feelings about. How do you feel about selective abortion? Surrogacy? Artificial insemination? Single mommies? Drug addicted mommies? I am not saying that the job isn't for you, but maternity nursing isn't only about healthy mommies giving birth to healthy wanted babies. Those are things you have to carefully consider.

Being sick frequently is not a plus. Sick people should not be around tiny new babies or expectant mommies. Also, in terms of your career choice, frequently calling off sick in nursing is not considered a desirable trait. So you generally need to be a healthy person and take care of yourself :)

Good luck and wishing you the best in your future endeavors-

Bobbkat · May 5, 2011

I work in the Neonatal ICU, with sick/preemie/not transitioning to life well babies. I interact with the new moms as they visit the babies, but I do not nurse them. My patient population varies from very very sick/premature babies that need a lot of medical and nursing care and interventions (think ventilators, IV drips, central lines, surgeries) to basically healthy newborn that had a little hiccup along the way (maybe they came to us because they are breathing a little fast after a c/section, but will go to well baby nursery within a few hours).

I deal with blood, IV's, and lot's of bodily fluids. Really, there is NO WAY to avoid dealing with those things, since in order to be a nurse in any area you have to go through a nursing program which will rotate you through different areas. You will be exposed to blood, feces, vomit, and all sorts of other unpleasant substances. I 'got over it' pretty quickly. If you want to work in labor and delivery, Mother/baby, or NICU, you will definately be dealing with a lot of amniotic fluid, blood, and most likely feces. Another option would be to work in an outpatient OB/GYN/CNM clinic. Some nurses even work more in a community health position working with young/under-privleged/un-insured pregnant woman and mothers.

I love what I do. I feel very fulfilled beng able to help guide a sick newborn towards home, and help a new family deal with the terror of having a child in the NICU. I don't enjoy doing painful procedures on babies, but it goes with the territory and is necessary for them to progress towards going home.

I've never worked in the ER, and probably never will.

I used to be a teacher. I personally find nursing far more fullfillng and enjoyable, but that's just my personal opinion. I like being able to combine teaching (I do a LOT of teaching to parents on my unit) with the medical and technical challenges of nursing. Obviously, we need great teachers in the world too, though.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 5, 2011

Hi, first I would like to say that I'm new to allnurses.com, therefore, I'm not too sure if I'm post this in the right category or not...but here goes.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself to start off with. I'm a senior in high school. I've always wanted to work with babies. I'm also facinated with pregnancies. I have changed my mind a million times, but it always comes back to nursing. My only other option is teaching, and I'm pretty sure that occupation is not for me.
What kind of options do I have in the Nursing field??? What kind of nurses work with mothers/babies? What do they do?
Do all nurses have to work in the ER sometime or another? (I get sick a lot. that would be a huge fall back) Any info you think would be helpful is welcome!
Also, I'm kind of hesitant because I don't know how I would do with IV's/needles/blood and guts:( Do I HAVE to deal with it??
Any advice??
Thank you all so much!

It is obvious to me that you have never seen a baby born......there is blood, guts, IV's and needles as wellas a few other bodily fluids. Nurses deal with ALOT of really unpleasant things. YOu learn to deal with them. IF you really want to be a nurse...you'll learn to deal with the day to day unpleasantness as you gain experience and mature in the profession. We all have some bodily function we can't stand and have to learn to work around.

I am unsure with you being sick alot has to do with the emergency department other than you have frequent trips to the ED. You will have a rotation through school through all department esentially but once you specialize you won't ever have to go there again. The Emergency Department, the OR/PACU, and Labor and Delivery/post partum are usually closed units that only float within themselves and don't float from other areaas to them.

If you go into nursing there are many venues from travel/cruise, drug companies, education, law/consulting, school/public health, office, dialysis....the list goes on......

For nursing you have to like people...and care how they are feeling. You have to love to teach and be taught by others.......Good Luck!!!!

ccparsons11 · May 5, 2011

It is obvious to me that you have never seen a baby born......there is blood, guts, IV's and needles as wellas a few other bodily fluids. Nurses deal with ALOT of really unpleasant things. YOu learn to deal with them. IF you really want to be a nurse...you'll learn to deal with the day to day unpleasantness as you gain experience and mature in the profession. We all have some bodily function we can't stand and have to learn to work around.
I have seen a baby born and I do know there is an insane amount of unpleasant substances. I don't really know how to word my question...would i have to touch any of it?

ccparsons11 · May 5, 2011

how can i find out if I would do a good as a nurse? as I have no experience in the nursing field. just what i have seen as a patient. I love helping people in all kinds of ways. I am super supportive. From all the replies, I'm kind of discouraged now...I don't want to go into a field and not be good at it. what should i do?

ccparsons11 · May 5, 2011

As a nurse, you will encounter mothers and babies if you work in hospital units such as postpartum, the newborn nursery, L&D, pediatrics, the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit), and the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). Outside of the hospital, you will encounter mothers and babies if you do pediatric home care or work in the doctors office of a pediatrician.
A person can be a nurse all of their working career and never once work in an ER. The ER is considered a nursing specialty and is difficult for a new nurse to be hired into, anyway.
If you work in a hospital, you will need to learn how to deal with IVs, needles, blood, poop, and so forth. However, you'll become desensitized to this stuff with the passage of time. Good luck to you!

I have seen a baby born and I do know there is an insane amount of unpleasant substances. I don't really know how to word my question...would i have to touch any of it?

ccparsons11 · May 5, 2011

I'm sorry. I'm not familiar with this website and replying. my last reply was meant for Esme12.... sorry!!

JacobK, ADN, EMT-I · May 5, 2011

how can i find out if I would do a good as a nurse? as I have no experience in the nursing field. just what i have seen as a patient. I love helping people in all kinds of ways. I am super supportive. From all the replies, I'm kind of discouraged now...I don't want to go into a field and not be good at it. what should i do?

Take a CNA or EMT-B course. They can be done in 6 weeks in most places. It will give you an idea whether or not the medical field is right for you due to the basics skills learned, and your exposure to patient care and health setting during clinicals. Then if you do decide to continue on to getting your RN you will have some experience and a little more knowledge and confidence in what you want to do.

Better to spend 6 weeks in CNA or EMT-B school and decide you don't like it than to spend 2 years doing prerequisites for RN and find out your first week of clinical that you hate it.

alphabetsoup · May 5, 2011

Um, well we do wear polyvinyl gloves and we do wash our hands an awful lot. Yes, you are going to be "touching it" in some way or another. There are the few occasions I have had something fly up on my arm or land on my shoe as well- poop, blood, body tissue, skin flakes, urine. I once had a pair of shoes which ended up in the trash after they became "poo shoes" and I had to buy "new shoes". If this is like a dealbreaker for you then the medical field might not be for you because it just goes with the territory. Maybe you should work as an aide before you commit to nursing school. Then you will learn what your tolerance is for dealing with these issues.

sillypuddy143 · May 5, 2011

I'm sorry. I'm not familiar with this website and replying. my last reply was meant for Esme12.... sorry!!

You could take a CNA class, I know the red cross has a 4-6 week program, and you will likely have a week of clinicals in a somewhere. Though they it probably wont be with moms and babies like you are interested in, it will at least get you exposed to the bodily fluid aspect haha, you could then try to get a part time job as one just to see if you like it. Thats certainly a lot cheaper then going through nursing school only to find out you dislike it.

You could also try volunteering at a hospital, this may not give you quite the understanding you are looking for either, but will at least get you acclimated to the hospital atmosphere.

And YES you will have to touch all kind of bodily fluids, however you will be wearing gloves! It's amazing how big of a difference it makes in what you have no problem touching when you have gloves on haha!

Good luck :) :nurse: