Does working on a OB unit help you eventually obtain an L&D job?

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Specializes in Maternity.

this may sound like a silly question, as many people are probably thinking, "of course!" but after my interview last week i have been wondering...... does it really help to get into labor and delivery if you have worked on an ob floor? the nurse manager had described the job details of the ob floor nurse to me, which included floating up to the nicu when needed, but not to labor and delivery. she said that labor and delivery was "very different." so i am asking any or all l&d nurses, should i just try to obtain a regular med/surg position since so many l&d jobs require a year of med/surg? or would working on a maternity floor fulfill the med/surg requirement even though it's a specialized unit? i am just wondering if an l&d floor would look down on me if i didn't have that med/surg experience. especially because mostly only experienced nurses are able to obtain a job on the ob floor where i was offered a job, this isn't normally a concern for those that are trying to get into l&d.

i have two job opportunities and am unsure of what to do :/

thanks:confused:

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Specializes in L&D, OR, postpartum, pedi, OBGYN clinic.

I got hired directly into L&D so no a year of med/surg is not required. The OB floor will look much better than med/surg 100 times over. You may not float to L&D from Mom/baby but we float there. So if you know the pattern of post partum that is one more thing you have than another med/surg nurse doesn't. Also once you get going in OB you can ask to get trained in L&D from inside. Our big complaint in L&D was that NO ONE was trained from mom/baby to cover us for our lunches. I bet the manager would love to have someone volunteer to learn L&D.

Hope that helps :)

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Specializes in Maternity.

thank you :) that was a huge help!

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what state are you in OP, just out of curiosity?

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Specializes in L&D, PP, Nursery.

I work on OB at 2 hospitals. Both units are L&D/Postpartum/Nursery. At both, all nurses are crosstrained to work all units. I was hired into L&D 15 years ago with no med-surg experience. We hired 4 new grads several years ago with NO experience in anything and they all did very well. Many of our seasoned nurses have no med-surg either. Granted, med-surg would certainly be helpful but I think OB would more beneficial. I agree that any hospital would be thrilled to have someone willing to crosstrain to L&D. At our hospitals, we never know from one day to the next if we are going to be working L&D, postpartum or nursery. We also have to scrub and circulate for c-sections. There is alot of versatility in maternal/child nursing. Good luck in your decision!

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Specializes in Maternity.

rn4babies63: thanks! i hope that in taking this ob position my chances will be good for l&d in the future! during my clinical experience in maternity, i witnessed the nurses taking turns on labor/delivery and postpartum. the hospital that i am going to work for does it a little differently.....they have nurses that are dedicated to either delivery room or maternity. after the mom has delivered she switches into a room on our unit. she doesn't stay in the room she delivered in, regardless of how she delivered.

i will admit, i was a little bummed when i realized that i wouldn't be able to float to l&d, but like the idea that you guys have posted about possibly volunteering to train. maybe that is a possibility.

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Specializes in Maternity.

devie06: in ny

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Specializes in labor & delivery.

Go for it! I started in post partum and asked to train into L&D. Our unit is also seperate--couplet care, L&D, NICU. Each has its own nurses. We do not float to L&D, but L&D does float over to post partum from time to time. I will begin training in L&D soon and our manager stated that they would rather train someone that already works there than to hire from outside. I started as a new grad with no experience. Good Luck!

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Specializes in Maternity.
go for it! i started in post partum and asked to train into l&d. our unit is also seperate--couplet care, l&d, nicu. each has its own nurses. we do not float to l&d, but l&d does float over to post partum from time to time. i will begin training in l&d soon and our manager stated that they would rather train someone that already works there than to hire from outside. i started as a new grad with no experience. good luck!

yay!! that gets me really excited :) one step closer to my ultimate dream! but who knows, i may absolutely love postpartum and never want to leave! you all have been so helpful thank you so much!

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Specializes in L&D.

I hired directly into L&D, and have never worked a single day of med-surg in my entire life. L&D is it's own little world, and a lot of what you'd do in med-surg wouldn't even have any usefulness in L&D (and vice versa). I'd go for the OB job, the knowledge you will gain there will be much more use to you in eventually getting to L&D.

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Specializes in Maternity.
i hired directly into l&d, and have never worked a single day of med-surg in my entire life. l&d is it's own little world, and a lot of what you'd do in med-surg wouldn't even have any usefulness in l&d (and vice versa). i'd go for the ob job, the knowledge you will gain there will be much more use to you in eventually getting to l&d.

this definitely is reassuring for the ob job. i guess i just heard , "very different from l&d" from the nurse manager and read into it too much. like, i kept thinking that not only would i just be specialized in ob but, now i am less valuable to l&d because i will have very little to contribute (since the nurse role in ob and l&d are so different) and no med/surg experience (which a lot of apps say they require). i just didn't want to take a step backwards and would just rather jump into med/surg if i would just need that in the end anyway! but....i guess from what everyone is posting, it sounds like i am taking a step in the right direction by pursuing ob :)

i am very grateful for all of your advice :) thanks again.

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Specializes in correctional, med/surg, postpartum, L&D,.
Go for it! I started in post partum and asked to train into L&D. Our unit is also seperate--couplet care, L&D, NICU. Each has its own nurses. We do not float to L&D, but L&D does float over to post partum from time to time.

This sounds like our unit. I started off working in our LDRP as an LPN and did so for years just doing couplet care. I also floated to NICU PRN. When I went back to school for my RN, I came back to our family maternity center, which was now separated. One side is LDR (Labor, delivery and recovery) and the other side is PP. My manager asked if I'd like to be trained to LDR, but I thought it might be beneficial to see what had changed in PP before trying something new. I again, worked there for 3 years before deciding that I needed a change and would love to cross-train to LDR. I am now mainly in LDR but I love it. I do float once in a while to PP and still float to NICU (what a nice change that is every once in a while). I love the versatility of being an RN.

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