Is my career goal to specific?

bagladyrn, RN · Mar 26, 2002

i am an L&D nurse who loves what I do (most nights), but I would suggest that at this point (just getting started) you may want to open your mind to all the experiences coming your way. If you focus too much on one area, you may not even see other opportunities that could turn out to be really fulfilling. ( 14 years ago I was a psych. nurse who took a position in OB just to try something different!)

maire, ASN, RN · Mar 26, 2002

I'm sorry I'm not giving you an answer here, but I, too, am really curious what the experienced nurses have to say about this. I started nursing school with the ultimate goal of working OB, ideally L&D. No other facet of medicine fascinates me as much as this field! :)

layna · Mar 27, 2002

I have always wanted to do OB. When I was a new grad, the chances of getting into OB were few. I did one year of Med/Surg which I think helped me to form a solid foundation. Med/Surg nurses see a broad range of cases. After Med/Surg, I spent a year in ICU/CCU just for a chance to move to a specialty unit. I really loved it there, but could not resist an OB position when it came up at the end of that year. That is the GREATEST thing about nursing- the variety of areas you can practice in. I have been in OB since Jan. of 1992. I love OB and was glad to finally be in OB. I do feel that a good Med/Surg background is very important before going into OB. Just my personal opinion.

shay · Mar 27, 2002

I don't think it's necessarily bad to be focused on a career in L&D, but I DO think it's bad to be focused on only one hospital in your area...that's just unrealistic. If I had focused on only one hospital, I wouldn't have had a job until a few months ago. The unit I'm on now only has an opening when somebody DIES or retires...

If you want L&D that much, you'll work anywhere you can get some experience in that field, no matter what the hospital.

My opinion.

donnasL&D · Mar 27, 2002

Most hospitals require at least 1 yr of med surg nursing before working OB L&D. So more than likely you will need that. Make sure that you do not go into this thinking that L&D is a cake walk, because it is not. I have seen too many nurses come to our floor because they thought that it would be nice to sit an rock babies. And when they find out that in our small hosp. with no residents, you are it. You do vag. exams lots of time there is no md there during the night, and yes lots of judgement calls and you may end up having to deliver a baby. There is a lot of responsibility. Not to talk you out of it. I love it. But it is not for everyone. I have seen lots of people be very disappointed when they see what they really have to do.

donna

joyrochelle · Mar 28, 2002

*my* opinion....varies. I am going to graduate in 7 weeks!!! wow...so close! anyway, i got a job at an area hospital rotating between 3 units, NICU, postpartum and L&D as a nurse extern. Granted it took a lot of persistence....perserverance....but i was able to gain a lot of experience and shoadowing of RN's through my work as an extern becuase the RN's and nurse managers knew how interested i was in OB/GYN. I have recently been hired in to a beautiful hospital to work as an extern until grad and then as a GN/RN in their L&D (LDRP) unit.

I got into nursing school with the intentions of ultimately becoming a Women's health nurse practitioner down the road--OB/GYN was definitely my interest.

BUT mY POINT FINALLY is this-- don't discount the labor of all the areas you willlearn because you NEED that info. about med/surg, peds, mental health etc....

but you can get to the area that you really wanna work in if you KEEP your eye on the prize.......I believe that.

Good luck to us ALL

jhrn · Mar 30, 2002

Thank you all for your replies! I definitely don't have my sights set on just one hospital, I meant I would like to work in the hospital setting (we have 2 decent sized hospitals with 10 minutes of my home). However, I would also be interested in working in a OBGYN office. I just wondered if it was unrealistic to hope to get an OB job soon after graduating. I have been through two l&d's myself and know how much my nurses did. That is what really prompted me to look seriously into becoming a nurse even though I already am a elementary teacher. I enjoy teaching, but after my two children being born I have been so interested in nursing and the labor and delivery process etc. At our hospitals l&d and pp are all on one floor, I know the nurses also rotate at times through peds and nicu. I took two nursing classes through the hospital while I was in hs so I do have an idea of what I'd be doing. THank you all again! Can any of you go into more detail about the daily tasks of an OB nurse at hospital/ doctors office??

Thanks

Jennifer

mother/babyRN, RN · Apr 8, 2002

Don't forget that OB means not just babies, but everything that comes with sick babies and sick moms..It wouldn't hurt to have a varied background from the standpoint of being more knowlegeable in what to expect and treat when it comes to your patients. Many people who have only done OB are frightened to float or consider patients with problems on top of or because of the pregnancy..You can have so many things go wrong having nothing to do with the pregnancy...I would reccommend doing something else first, unless your hospital has a position open up that no one else takes (unlikely) within the facility. Get your education, some experience, and a foot in the door....OB is one of the scariest places I have ever worked (and I have worked in several areas including telemetry), but definitely rewarding...You will need to know how to recognize things such as pulmonary edema, anemia, dic, pneumonia, diabetes and the resultand complications and treatments, cardiac problems, stroke and emboli, not to mention a host of other complications associated specifically with pregnancy....And, even if your hospital is not officially classified as high risk, that doesn't stop those darn people from getting ill once they pass through your doors. Why not have the OB job as your ultimate goal, with some experience tacked on along the way, in order to make you a GREAT OB nurse, instead of just a good one....Good luck either way, and welcome to the field...

debbyed · Apr 8, 2002

Having goals is great..IF...you keep an open mind. I went to nursing school with every intension of being a psyc. nurse. The closest I've come to that is by qualifying to be a psyc. patient after >25 years of Emergency Nursing. They won't lock me up in the psyc. rooms however until I can find someone to replace me.

Best of luck with your school work.

Debbye

:eek: :roll :rolleyes: :chuckle :confused:

rnoflabor2000 · Apr 9, 2002

Do what ever you want to, there are no real reasons not to do so. You may have obstacles to cross, but in the end, you will cross them and do whatever makes you happy.

You may find that L&D is not for you, so try Postpartum or Peds but know that all areas have their good times and bad times.

Good luck

JenniferNRN · Apr 11, 2002

I went to school to become an L&D nurse after having my kids as well and although in school I enjoyed some other areas also, in my heart, I knew it was L&D I wanted.

Because of the shortage, our area (Chicago and suburbs) for the most part has done away with requiring med-surg experience first. I got a position in L&D right away and have been doing it now for about 9 months. I absolutely love it and I'm so glad that I decided to go for it. It is not easy and there is a lot of judgement calls that need to be made, so I'm still asking a lot of questions of more experienced RN's, but little by little I am getting used to it and I'm learning new things everyday.

I have never worked in an ob/gyn office, but in my opinion, I would find that too redundant with not enough responsibility or autonomy. I like doing things on my own such as lady partsl exams and pushing with a patient. At our hospital, we assess the patient and inform the docs of what is happening. They rely on us to know when to intervene or come for delivery. I find that pretty empowering.

Good luck....I know you will love it!