Interested in the field of women's health, but not so interested in labor/OB

[dianacs]

I am interested in the field of women's health, but I'm not really into the pregnancy aspect of it. I know that childbearing is an obvious aspect of women's health, but I am more interested in other things, like the aging process, family planning, mental health, and in educating women about their bodies. Are there areas of practice within women's health that are NOT labor/OB? I think it would be great to be a women's NP someday, but I don't want to be a midwife. Thanks in advance for any insight you might have.

[mightynurse]

Hi, there

I know how you feel, I am interested in Women's Health too, but not the Labor and delivery part. For my senior community nursing clinical, I was paired up with a nurse who worked in a in-hospital weell-woman''s clinic she did pap smears, birth control counselling, bone density testing for osteoporosis, HRT counselling and the like, basically promoting reproductive health. What about getting invovled with mobile mammography clinics ? Their are many other aspects to woman's health that you can lend your nursing expertise to. I hope you find your "niche".

[mightynurse]

I meat There are many other opportunities available, I was invovled with setting up a well woman's clinic in an innercity area, the woman felt more comfortable going to and talking to a female nurse when geeting a pap smear and information then going to a male gynecologist. Most times, formal hospital-based care is inaccessible due to economic barriers.

[joyrochelle]

women's health nurse practitioners do very much of what you want, minus the OB things that nurse midwives do....their lines do often get tangled however.

i kinda changed my mind about my ultimate career path after thinking about it....i wanna get L&D experience first as a new RN, but after awhile i wanna become a WHNP and do much of what you say.....

[shay]

Yeah, I was gonna suggest the WHNP thing. You may have to do some OB office visits, but more of your work will be focused on GYN care. I see a NP who does not deliver babies, but does all well-woman care, fertility counseling, bone density screens, etc., as well as some OB office visits.

There are even some docs in my area who do only GYN practice, not OB. They have nurse midwives that work in their offices. So you could also be a nurse midwife but take a job at a GYN only office or at a family practice office.

[joyrochelle]

isn't nursing cool? i love women's health.....

[mom22]

This is my area, also. I've enjoyed the regular clinic setting, a few years in a fertility clinic (we didn't follow the pregnant patient), and am now in antepartum. In antepartum, a baby is born occasionally, but I really don't care for L&D, either. Good luck!