Does med/surg/critical care experience pay off?

[FutureMidwifeRN]

I have to say I've become terribly disheartened in pursuing my passion in maternal/child nursing, specifically labor and delivery. I have 4 years med/surg/tele experience and 6 mos icu/ccu. I recently moved jobs to gain ccu. Any how, I just can't seem to catch my break. I love nursing and we'll always love it regardless of the area I'm in, but I really want l&d and NICU experience. I'm trying to get hired at my old job and I thought I left on good terms but I have been turned down on three different times. I just want to cry. Any suggestions?

[Postpartum RN]

I'm sorry it's usually pretty tough to get into this specialty. You have a lot of experience they should value that on your resume. You will be coming in with critical assessment skills and a lot of technical hands on skills, and you will know how to manage an emergency that comes up without panicking since you have that experience. Make those points in future interviews.

Perhaps find out if you can float to post partum or l&d at your hospital as a break or task nurse, that way you can network and get a feel for the floor. Go and meet that manager and hand her your resume and tell her your interest and passion.

Start getting OB certifications if you haven't already.

When you say turned down 3 times already, do you mean you had 3 interviews or 3 of your applications were turned down?

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