just getting in to nursing ad need advice please!!!

delilas · Jul 3, 2010

There are a lot of threads on this, but basically, the rundown: do well in school. Network, and if you have time, volunteer at hospitals (its what I did, and I wouldnt have gotten a job otherwise).

You're probably going to have to work in a different area first. Labor and Delivery rarely takes new grads. I hit up a MedSurg floor for a year, got my feet wet, and transitioned later. I still float on occasion as needed, and I wouldnt be able to do that if it hadnt been for medsurg.

Pay attention during your clinicals to L&D - there are a lot of people who love the *idea* of labor and delivery, but can't handle the ups and downs of it. Could you handle delivering a stillborn? Can you handle delivering a 24 week old that can't breathe? Labor and Delivery is beautiful when its good, but its a monsoon when its bad.

ShiphrahPuah · Jul 4, 2010

Work in a hospital during nursing school to get your foot in the door. Often it can be difficult to get into L&D as a new grad, but it is not impossible. My department has hired new grads who worked in the department as OB techs or as a unit clerk during school. I got hired in as a new grad and didn't work in the department, but I did work for the hospital in ER registration and got a great review from my director which really helped me get into L&D.

A lot nursing schools will tell you NOT to work during school, but in this economy it is a wise thing to get your foot in the door of a hospital. In my graduating class in May 2008, those who worked in hospitals as techs or even in clerical positions got jobs first, and I think it has gotten significantly more difficult to get hired in general as a new grad now than when I graduated. Yes, grades are important, but I think work experience and a foot in the door (with the reputation of being a hard worker) are even more important. I was psycho about grades and got through with straight A's, but I really think that working in a hospital was the key to getting into the specialty I wanted. Nobody cares any more how I did in school, only how good I am as a nurse. And some of the best nurses I know were some who graduated with me and struggled all the way through to maintain a C average (on a scale where below 80% was failing). The academics are important, but experience weighs in pretty strong.

morphed · Jul 4, 2010

Network, and if you have time, volunteer at hospitals (its what I did, and I wouldnt have gotten a job otherwise).

You think volunteering really helps? That's what I was planning on doing both for the fact that it looks good and because it's something I would feel good about doing, although I thought it really wouldn't matter that much. Hopefully it'll be something that helps me too. Was it a hospital LPN job that it helped you to get?