hope for those wanting L&D

[NeoRNtobe]

Hey,

I am a new grad who wanted L&D very badly and I thought I would share my story to give hope to those who want in but have had a hard time getting in.

I went to all my local hospitals RN recruiters and got information about where they accepted new grads (best thing I ever did). The last hospital I went to had openings in L&D and they didn't say they required experience. So I sat down with the RN recruiter, only to find out that the positions did require experience, and that their L&D only takes new grads infrequently.

So she told me they did have openings on med/surg. Not for me, but I figured I need to interview because my chances for L&D are looking slim. Well I interviewed, thought it went well, but the RN manager never called. So I moved on. About 3 weeks later, the RN recruiter called said L&D was gonna take new grads and she thought of me first. I said, how come that RN manager in med/surg never called, I thought it went well, even though I didn't want the position. She told me that I had impressed her but she knew I would ditch her for L&D eventually.

So just by impressing the RN recruiter and Med/surg RN manager, I landed myself a L&D position. So tell EVERYONE what you want to do, you never who has connections with who.

[SmilingBluEyes]

Got into L/D as a new grad before I even finished nursing school, so I know it can be done.

Congratulations to you!

[mitchsmom]

Congrats!

I just took a job at the place where I did my preceptorship. My area needs nurses in every specialty! I was lucky to get days, though

When do you start? You'll have to keep us posted!

[RN and Mommy]

Congrats! I know a lot of people want to go into L&D in my school. The problem here is there is just not that big of a nursing shortage in my area and there are barely any Med/Surg openings in the hospitals let alone L&D. I wish you the best of luck!

[NeoRNtobe]

Hey guys, I start on the 16th. I will keep you posted.

[ER1010]

I second what you are saying...it can be done! However, you must must be the type of person who will be persistant. When one person tells you no, you have to find someone else to talk to. When calling doesn't work, email. When the recruiter says no, call the manager. Tell everyone and anyone what you want.

Can you tell my life has been dedicated to job hunting? No one told me how hard or frustrating it can be. HR people will not return your calls. You will be blown off time and again. I could have had a nervous breakdown.

But, I just got my second interview, so hopefully I will get the job. Good luck to all!

[Gabie Baby]

Hey,

I am a new grad who wanted L&D very badly and I thought I would share my story to give hope to those who want in but have had a hard time getting in.

I went to all my local hospitals RN recruiters and got information about where they accepted new grads (best thing I ever did). The last hospital I went to had openings in L&D and they didn't say they required experience. So I sat down with the RN recruiter, only to find out that the positions did require experience, and that their L&D only takes new grads infrequently.

So she told me they did have openings on med/surg. Not for me, but I figured I need to interview because my chances for L&D are looking slim. Well I interviewed, thought it went well, but the RN manager never called. So I moved on. About 3 weeks later, the RN recruiter called said L&D was gonna take new grads and she thought of me first. I said, how come that RN manager in med/surg never called, I thought it went well, even though I didn't want the position. She told me that I had impressed her but she knew I would ditch her for L&D eventually.

So just by impressing the RN recruiter and Med/surg RN manager, I landed myself a L&D position. So tell EVERYONE what you want to do, you never who has connections with whom.

Congratulations! Too bad that M/S manager wasted your time and didn't have the courtesy to tell you the truth but congrats anyway.

[texas-rn-fnp]

I have seen that there are often cliques (spelling?) on L/D. L&D nurses are a little different than other areas. It is one of the few areas that can function partially independantly. To clarify that...I mean that a patient can come in be triaged and delivered by the nurse if a doctor is not present or not yet available. This is not the ideal situation, but a situation that happens more often than it should. There are not many or any other areas I can think of that are like that. Because of this some L/D nurses feel they are special and different than other nurses. This leads to a tight knit group of people that are sometimes resistant to outsiders.

The other reason it is hard to get into L/D is because most L/D nurses just love what they do and don't leave their positions.