Interview for Mother Baby unit! Help with learning postpartum nursing.

[geekgolightly, BSN, RN]

Hi everyone!

I have an interview in a mother-baby unit and am excited about this opportunity. I love my current job, but I am moving out of state, and decided to try something new. I currently work in MICU, and have also worked neuroscience, stroke research, ortho-trauma, but I started nursing school 10 years ago with the idea that I wanted to be a midwife. I obviously sidestepped and have enjoyed it, and now I can finally try to get into this specialty of nursing.

I was hoping that you could direct me to a website that will give me free CEU education materials in PP nursing, or a place where I can learn the shorthand, because I downloaded a sample note and there are lots of abbreviations I am not familiar with!

Here is the sample:

L&D Admit Note

26yo G3P1011, at 36W5D EGA, c/o ctx since 12 noon, getting stronger, LMP

with ROM @ 1pm - clear fluid EDC

(+) FM, (-) lady partsl bleeding EGA 36W 5D

Prenatal Care (PNC)-1st visit 12/15/95, total of 15 visits, RH clinic, denies complications in this pregnancy

O+ Rubella immune HbSag neg VDRL NR

GC/Chlam neg PPD neg GCT 102 GBS (-)

MSAFP wnl HIV neg PAP wnl

USG - 12/5 - 10 wks - cwd

2/15 - 20 wks - cwd, no anomalies

BP at 10 wks = 110/70, Hct 38

For G3P1011, I understand gravida 3, but why para 1011? I learned that it was gravida 2, para 2 or 1. I don't understand the string of numbers.

What is VDRL NR, GCT, MSAFP, PAP (in my world PAP is pulmonary artery pressure)?

I know I am jumping the gun here, but I like to be prepared. I think that mother-baby would be a good fit because education is one of my great passions, and in mother-baby there is ample need for education. I might be rather idyllic about mother-baby, but I imagine that I would get many opportunities to help with latch issues or show a new mom how to swaddle, lots of discharge instructions etc etc. I have sublimated my education drive in MICU by working on the education committee, so i hope that will work in my favor in terms of getting this job.

Anyways! Long winded way of asking for resources you use or education materials that you think might help me learn what I need in order to be a good PP nurse.

Thank you!

[geekgolightly, BSN, RN]

I am so sorry, I posted this in the wrong forum. Could a mod please move it to OBGyn? Thanks so much.

[NeoPediRN]

1011 = 1 term birth, 0 preterm births, 1 abortion be it spontaneous or induced, 1 living child. It is also known as the TPAL system...VDRL is venereal disesase and NR is nonreactive. GCT is glucose challenge test, more commonly known as GTT...MSAFP is maternal serum alpha fetoprotein test, which is a blood test that is a marker for certain fetal abnormalities. Pap is just short for pap smear. I wouldnt worry about any of these things though, you arent going to be expected to know them. The manager is going to want to know how you can relate your previous nursing experience to this position...with your MICU experience you have excellent critical thinking skills, you are probably good under pressure, and you will be able to recognize early signs of PP complications like a PE, hemorrhage, etc because of that experience. The manager will want to know you have a love for teaching because thats what 75% of PP care is. Whether you can decipher short hand on a triage note will definitely not come into play, I promise.

[geekgolightly, BSN, RN]

1011 = 1 term birth, 0 preterm births, 1 abortion be it spontaneous or induced, 1 living child. It is also known as the TPAL system...VDRL is venereal disesase and NR is nonreactive. GCT is glucose challenge test, more commonly known as GTT...MSAFP is maternal serum alpha fetoprotein test, which is a blood test that is a marker for certain fetal abnormalities. Pap is just short for pap smear. I wouldnt worry about any of these things though, you arent going to be expected to know them. The manager is going to want to know how you can relate your previous nursing experience to this position...with your MICU experience you have excellent critical thinking skills, you are probably good under pressure, and you will be able to recognize early signs of PP complications like a PE, hemorrhage, etc because of that experience. The manager will want to know you have a love for teaching because thats what 75% of PP care is. Whether you can decipher short hand on a triage note will definitely not come into play, I promise.

Thank you for all of the abbreviation explanations. I just don't want to seem like an idiot my first day. I definitely am ahead of myself, but that's how I operate. Obsessive!

I do have critical care skills and a love for education, so I'm good there. I read Spiritual Midwifery well before becoming a nurse, so I have a history of wanting to do this sort of work. That book, coupled with helping my bff deliver with a midwife was the inspiration for starting nursing school. I have also experienced multiple losses, including fetal demise, a lady partsl birth complicated by IUGR and preeclampsia, am very pro breastfeeding (nursed my DS for 3 years after 6 weeks of fail to latch issues). Even more so, I am pro-mom, because it's the mom who has to take care of her LO and she needs all the support she can get, and her choices are her own.

Should I mention my personal history? It seems so intimate for an interview, but they are part of what has driven me to this aspect of nursing.

Thank you for all of your help,a nd if there are any resources I can look at online, that would be icing on the cake.

[NeoPediRN]

I think a lot of that is worth a mention. It will surely come up as a reason why you want to change to this field. I share a similar personal experience as you and it motivated me to want to do maternity, but after awhile I realized I really just wanted to save children and haven't look back. I'm almost where I want to be, not quite but almost. Good luck, feel free to ask anything else that comes to mind. I'm sure you'll do great!

[77EpiphanyRN]

Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN)

try this professional organization!! maybe u can even get a membership, and then come prepared with some reading some updated evidenced based journal article- impress them with some current research.

mother baby is my absolute favorite :)

[geekgolightly, BSN, RN]

Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN)

try this professional organization!! maybe u can even get a membership, and then come prepared with some reading some updated evidenced based journal article- impress them with some current research.

mother baby is my absolute favorite :)

This is great. They have lots for free, which is the right price for me at the moment. Moving to another state is going to take a bite out of our savings.

[geekgolightly, BSN, RN]

I had my phone interview with HR and the nurse manager and I think it went really well! I am completely sold on this unit and hope I get the opportunity to join their staff. They are expanding their MFM dept and are caring for critically ill antepartum patients, which is a huge bonus for me. I can't wait to do a shadow experience with them when I move next month.

I wanted to thank all of you who helped me and who post here because I have been reading all of these threads, trying to get an understanding of what AP/PP/nursery care is about. You all have been invaluable to me.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I wish you the very best of luck. Let us know what happens. What state are you moving to?

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

VDRL test is a syphilis test. The letters stand for Venereal Disease Research Laboratory, which is kind of outdated but the abbreviation has stuck. (That lab is now called the Treponema Pathogenesis Immunology Branch or something like it.)

Anyway - it's a test for syphilis. If it's positive, they'll run a confirmatory test to make sure that it's actually syphilis, as there are things that can cause false positives - autoimmune disorders, meds, pregnancy, etc.

Your background will help you, as you know what it's like to be on the other side of that bed. Best to you!