Is It "Reality Shock" or am I in the Wrong Area?

PeggyOhio · May 22, 2001

Phantom

Ever been the one to loose the fetal heart rate?

Ever been around when a uterus ruptures?

Ever had a cord prolapse?

Ever deliver a baby with spina bifada?

Ever had a placenta previa?

Ever had a pre-eclamptic mother seize on you?

I could go on but you probably wouldn't agree anyway. Free country.

[ May 22, 2001: Message edited by: PeggyOhio ]

fiestynurse · May 22, 2001

That's the misconception that nurses have about Postpartum/newborn nursery/labor & del. We will lose our skills! All we do is deliver babies and take care of moms and healthy newborns. No big deal! What many people do not understand is that when things go wrong in these areas of nursing, they REALLY go wrong and very quickly. Hospital code teams know to respond to Code Blues very very quickly when it's coming from L&D or the Mother/Baby unit. Labor and delivery is definitely a crital care area. That's why it is such a difficult area for new grads to enter, without that strong med/surg background.

[ May 22, 2001: Message edited by: feistynurse ]

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · May 22, 2001

Hi, I would agree that caring for a normal mother/baby would not be critical care, if all goes well the mum doesn't need to be hospitalized at all. However if something goes wrong you need to have a nurse with critical care abilities as far as critical thinking, independent decision makin, team leading etc. They need to be ready to deal with a critical mom and infant at the same time, esp in small hospitals where the neonatologist is hours away. So they need peds and adult skills, and the ability to give direction to LPNs or less skilled RN's, and sometimes less skilled docs. Not to mention precipitous births, and communicating the urgency of a situation to a sleepy physician while doing scalp stim.

So the skills may be different, but we show the same independence in life threatening situations. If working a med or high risk delivery I would argue that the minute by minute assessments are just as important as in ICU, with two lives on the line- but you can only get at the one body (very frustrating) so I guess dismissing L&D as just another specialty unit, but not requiring critical skills seems like a quick and possibly unfair judgement.

caroleann · May 23, 2001

I totally agree with all of you who talk about L&D being an area where things could go wrong quickly! Since we deal with many, many high risk deliveries there are many days when someone has a crash c-section. This is part of what makes the area so scary. Also like canoehead says, there's that one body that you can't get to, and you can't assess much but heart tones during labor to give you clues about baby's condition. I know that each day's experience will be a new lesson and hopefully a step closer to feeling a little more comfortable. Thanks again for the great posts! :)

PhantomRN · May 25, 2001

PeggyOhio,

If you go back and read my posts there was no malice or attitude in my posts, so why did you feel the need to respond with attitude. I see from your earlier post you have many years experience as a nurse. So you have alot to offer in the way of knowledge. Is this the way you respond to a new nurse on the floor if she does not know the answer you attack, instead of trying to teach?

Don't tell me what I will or will not think given new information.

chrn · May 26, 2001

! I feel sick each day before I work !

40 years old, sick in the morning...

hmmm...hope that working in L&D you didn't "catch" something!!

Seriously, I worked in newborn nursery as a brand new nurse, rarely was even in the delivery area. WAY too scary for me! I tell people to this day that OB is just too unpredictable. If it's really what you want to do though, you'll learn fast and gain confidence and be a great asset to families for many years. Good luck and take care of yourself. Part time is great if you can do it.

PeggyOhio · May 26, 2001

Phantom

Your perception of "attitude" in my response is just that, yours. Free country.

I was giving you my experience.

You made a pronouncement about your opinion of a laboring woman not being "critically ill". And re-emphasized it a second time. I could say from my perspective those statements had "attitude".

I gave you my perspective. Whether or not you agree or disagree it is up to you. Free country.

I don't see the connection with how I would treat a new nurse on the floor? I wasn't trying to teach you anything, you weren't asking to be taught. Everyone is entitled to opinions. You have yours I have mine. Free country.

Do you always think people are attacking you when they express a different opinion than you?

[ May 25, 2001: Message edited by: PeggyOhio ]

crnasomeday · May 26, 2001

Man, I didn't mean to start a fight with the critical care question. I just wondered what areas are considered critical care because I hope to apply to grad school in another year and a half. The program requires a year of "critical care" experience for admission, and I am curious as to areas that fall under that category. Sorry for asking. Of course, around here, you don't have to say much of anything for an argument to ensue :eek:

PeggyOhio · May 26, 2001

Whose fighting? Expressing opinions is not fighting.

[ May 26, 2001: Message edited by: PeggyOhio ]