LPN IN OB lots of questions

[blendleylpn]

i'm an lpn and i started working in ob last week. the hospital where i work has ldrp rooms. when i was hired it was my understanding that lpn's can work in nursery and do pp care. however the ob director mentioned today that she had done some studying and i can "labor" pts...my question i guess is are there other lpn's out there that are doing this. and what techniquely qualifies as "laboring a pt" would that be lady partsl exams, monitoring pitocin, etc. thanks for all the help. if it helps any i live in tn....and i know that i can not give an iv push!!!!! i'm willing to learn all and i am going back to school i just don't want to be out of my scope of practice and i told her that i really wanna learn nursery and post partum before i tackle the laboring job. she said whenever i was ready. thanks for all the help and advice from all you seasoned nurses....rn and lpn alike...

brandy

[l&drocks]

There are LPN's that do work in Labor and Delivery. Yes, you would be responsible for laboring and pt, vag exams, monitoring pitocin drips, although you would not initiate the drips. Hope this answers some of your questions. I also work in Tennessee as a RN.. and was trained by LPN's in L&D

[imenid37]

WoW! LPN's at my hospital care only for PP and GYN's. They used to work L/D about 12-15 years ago, before I was there. They have never done IVP or VE's. They also don't take phone orders, which is our facility's,not the state's rule. It sounds like a great opportunity to learn. If your manager told you that you would not be doing L/D and now you are, be careful they know exactly what you can do and don't have you working outside of your scope of practice. You may even want to talk to the state board. As l&d rocks says thisis the norm in TN, so they will know things you absolutely shouldn't do. IN PA, according to what I was told by our manager, LPN's may not be left alone in the nursery. In MD, that was okay (of course that was more than 10 years ago, so it could've changed) Good luck!

[SmilingBluEyes]

There is not a hospital I know of that uses LPNs for direct labor patient care.....not one I have known of in 9 years, anyhow. When I first graduated, there was ONE LPN who did do this, but she has long retired. (and I have to add, I Learned more from her than anyone else----she was the best).

Sadly, since then, there have been no more.

I imagine there will be an RN assigned to "oversee" or somehow "cosign" your charting and works. That was how it worked for the LPN where I did my clinicals.

GOOD LUCK! Be sure you are aware of your role and what you can and cannot do, and if backup of any sort is required. I hope you enjoy the job!