Current Labor and Delivery Nurses: How did you get your job?

ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN · May 6, 2018

I applied for L&D right out of nursing school and didn't get any call backs. I ended up working in med/surg for 3 years and applying for OB/NICU/Peds jobs sporadically during that time with no call backs. Finally one day my current manager was desperate enough to call me in for an interview (they had just lost ~10 RNs due to retiring/moving/becoming NPs). I was offered the job that day and have been here ever since. I had no prior OB experience.

bagladyrn, RN · May 7, 2018

I was working in a different area and applied for a job in a medically underserved area. I relocated across the country to be able to get an OB job and be trained in it.

BabyLover23 · May 8, 2018

i volunteered as a doula and with a prenatal group called centeringpregnancy. this you video may help you with tips on how to get at job as a new grad l&d nurse. hope this helps!

AZBlueBell · May 8, 2018

I kept in contact with nurses I shadowed during school and my OB instructors and harrassed then all after I graduated until I got a job í ½í¸‚ seriously though, it's all about who you know, networking and making a good impression.

klone, MSN, RN · May 8, 2018

I kept in contact with nurses I shadowed during school and my OB instructors and harrassed then all after I graduated until I got a job ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ seriously though, it's all about who you know, networking and making a good impression.

Yes, this. If you can get your senior practicum in OB, that's a great way to network. We have a student who's doing her practicum on our unit right now, and has made a point of getting to know me and let me know of her interest. I'm able to see how she works and handles herself, and I have no hesitance about hiring her after graduation.

labordude, BSN, RN · May 12, 2018

Getting into L&D took me a lot more time than expected. I got stuck in the loop of "you don't have L&D experience/you aren't a new grad" and my gender definitely played a role. I had 10 years of level III NICU and 7 years as a lactation counselor so maternal/child health was definitely not new to me. Found a few great hospital systems who offered me opportunities, took one of those, and now I'm living the dream.

There are hospitals all around that will take new grads and specialty changers, but they may not be where you are now. Networking is absolutely essential as OB is a very small world even in the larger cities, the leadership talks and if you make good connections they can help you with their friends who may work at other facilities.

Ilikeletters · May 18, 2018

Preceptorship! Having people that you worked with that can advocate for you is invaluable.

nursetee05 · May 19, 2018

I applied for L&D right out of school but no one would hire me. I worked Mother-baby for a year and I was getting offers left and right. Don't get discouraged if you don't start off in L&D, just try to get a foot in the momma world (ob nursing). Postpartum is a good place to learn some very good skills, terminology, and see some problems that are very prevalent in the ob world and see how it affects not only their deliveries but postpartum as well. Working postpartum gave me a good foundation to build on when I started L&D.

mtnviews · May 22, 2018

I started as a new grad in L&D. I did start where I completed my OB clinicals, and I heard later a couple of staff members did remember me and had good things to say. I was a volunteer doula in nursing school so I think that helped my application stand out.

I really thought I had no shot at L&D - the doula was more for my own interest and maybe getting into L&D down the road. I did my leadership clinical in ICU stepdown, and a paid internship in med-surg and then stayed on as a tech, because I was more interested in finding a plan B route that I would be happy with than fighting over a bajillion other people for Women's Health spots then not get a job in it.

bklyngirl · May 26, 2018

I think it is hard for new grads because most posts require 2+ years, but some hospitals have a L&D fellowship and some are just willing to train new night staff because they need nurses! Having connections definitely helps! I also saw that med-surg nurses from within the hospital have applied and gotten interviews- if its something you really want you might have to keep banging on the door, work in ante or post partum, or even med surg, bugging the hospital on how to get in and take a chance with you, if you have a real passion and are able to deal with a hectic, unpredictable, fast paced envt then you can survive and get the job. but prove that you can ! its like the ER but for pregnant women. good luck!