Job position for L&D, POSTPARTUM, NURSERY

klone, MSN, RN · Oct 18, 2014

Yes, the hospital where I had my first nursing job was like that. At that time, they didn't do couplet care, so there were separate PP and NBN nurses. Most of us were expected to know all areas, and upon hire, they usually fully immersed the new nurse in L&D for several months, then trained her on postpartum and nursery. The benefit to that is that not only am I fully trained in L&D, but I could also work in a level 2 NICU, as we had a lot of experience with feeder/growers, hoods and nasal cannulas, starting IVs on babies, antibiotic therapy and bili lights.

perfexion, ASN, RN · Oct 18, 2014

I'm doing a travel assignment in a hospital now where they have a pool of nurses who rotate throughout all areas. There are only a few nurses who don't float to L&D and NICU because they're not properly certified, but the certified nurses can float to the other units. For the most part it's all one big unit and everyone rotates. I hate it. I'm a labor nurse but I've been in postpartum all week. That's like an ER nurse floating to med surg. I'm bored. I need action!

BSNbeauty, BSN, RN · Oct 20, 2014

We have L/D and postpartum. The NBN is staffed by postpartum nurses, as we rotate to be in the nursery.

labordude, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2014

I just accepted a position where I will be expected to work in all aspects of MCH. Even though the LDR and PP are separate, all nurses work in all areas of the department.

j0yegan · Oct 22, 2014

Thanks for your answers. I don't like the idea of working in all those areas.

klone, MSN, RN · Oct 22, 2014

I liked that I was very well-rounded and could float to any area, including a level II NICU. It makes you quite marketable.

HomeGrownMichiganRN, ADN · Oct 23, 2014

I just accepted a transfer to OB. In my hospital they train and expect you to be able to perform in all areas. I believe the reason why is because OB is a closed unit, so we handle all our staffing needs in house, meaning other nurses do not float to us and "most of the time" our nurses do not float elsewhere. Of course there are times for everything but for the majority of the time, our nurses have to be on call a couple of times a month to make sure we have enough staff to cover the unit. I do agree with you that each area is a speciality in itself, however I do believe that it will help me to become a well rounded nurse in OB (coming from an med-surg ICU stepdown unit) and I think it will help me become more marketable if I was ever to seek employment elsewhere.

j0yegan · Nov 7, 2014

I could NOT do labor & delivery!

Scooter24 · Nov 14, 2014

At my hospital the nurses are either Labor and Delivery or Nursery and all of those nurses work on the Mother-Baby unit as well (once a week or so). It seems to flow smoothly for us!