Fertility Clinics

Well-- I don't work in a clinic, but prior to starting nursing school I was a patient at two different facilities. I can tell you that the nursing care I received at the second facility was superb, and certainly added to my desire to get into this field.

As I recall, at both places, the nurses did a lot of the patient education. This related to menstrual cycles, procedures that might be experienced during treatment, how to administer injections of fertility meds, and usually were the first line of contact when clinic was called. Be sure you are comfortable with the subject matter, a sense of humor is certainly a bonus.....you'll be discussing a man giving samples, and showing him to his room....Also when retrievals and transplants are performed I believe nurses are present to assist. The second facility actually had its own surgi -wing, so it was much more like a surgi-center with recovery room-- awesome! The first place was not nearly as impressive.

What else can I think of.....daily blood draws for labs. As a patient, these nurses were a part of the darkest (and brightest) moments of my recent life. They hope for success and cried with the failures and rejoiced when I finally became pregnant. My son is now almost three, and I periodically do go back to the facility and am able to share the joy of all that they have given me.

Oh and FYI, after going through all this ...... and enjoying life with one son, I unexpectedly got pregnant 'naturally'. Postponing my final semester of nursing school.

I started school when Will was 5 months old, and finished school with Matthew not even a year old. My two boys are 23 months apart.

It's funny, someone that posts here (sorry I can't remember your name) has a quote as a signature that says, "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans".....that is so true!

Patsy, you not only described my dream job but also gave me some hope. I have had some issues with fertility as in, I may need to take a dose or two of clomid to get things started and while it is possible for me to have kids, it may be a little difficult for me to get pregnant. I have been struggling with this matter for a year emotionally, and we recently decided to start trying for kids this month and wait to see if we need the clomid. It's wonderful to hear your story of needing treatments and then unexpectedly having a second child. And that last line is something my mom has been telling me "if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans". So thank you for sharing your experience and for giving me an awesome description!

I worked fertility for 5 years, but have been out of the field for 10 now. I enjoyed the work.

Our office was very similar to a typical OBGYN office and we did alot of typical OBGYN stuff- paps, labwork, gyn office procedures, etc.

I was trained to inseminate with fresh or frozen sperm and was frequently a first assistand for egg retrieval. I did long 1-2 hour training sessions for home injectors which included a personalized schedule of upcoming office visits. I understand some clinics have the women come in daily for their injections.

We did alot of our ultrasounds very early in the morning to minimize the amount of time some women had to miss from work since they have to come in so frequently- sometimes every day or two for a week or two.

I did alot of scheduling and lab referrals.

It's a good field but the patients can be challenging at times (like any field).We had one deface the office because she was upset at pictures of children in the lobby, and at least one who responded poorly to pregnancy among staff members.

Let me clarify that most pts are pretty normal folks, but because this is such an emotionally charged field, a little psych is in order. We didn't hesitate to refer to a fertility-psych specialist in the area if there was any indication of need. Some pts got mad and moved on at this.

Even your basic assumptions about pts can be challenged. For example, you might assume someone coming to your clinic would both want to be pregnant and have children. Not always true. We had pts who just needed to prove the ability to become pregnant, not looking so much at the outcome of a pregnancy(children) and pts who just wanted the outcome, not necessarily the process (pregnancy). Sometimes pts would come just to 'punish' the spouse, such as a couple where the man had obtained a vasectomy without telling the wife.

We also had issues about coverage- insurance v. self pay.

Again, most pts are fairly normal, but the odd ones will really stand out.

I have had some issues with fertility as in, I may need to take a dose or two of clomid to get things started and while it is possible for me to have kids, it may be a little difficult for me to get pregnant. I have been struggling with this matter for a year emotionally, and we recently decided to start trying for kids this month and wait to see if we need the clomid.

Working in a fertility clinic is something that I will eventually go to as well. I love the idea of helping out people with fertility issues. In fact, I'm a admin on a fertility message board. But, I'd like to help people face to face, and not just through a computer.

Natalie, please pick up the book, "taking charge of your fertility" if you haven't already. It will help you to see if the clomid is working, and minimize the amount of time it takes to make a baby!

Does anybody here have any advice about the best direction to take to get into the field?