New grad nights in birthing center

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Is it a good idea to take a position as a new grad working nights in a birthing center? I just graduated and have limited nursing experience. I've never worked nights before and don't know what to expect as far as nights in a birthing unit (PP, L&D, and Nursery). I'm a night owl, so I'm not overly concerned about the hours. I'm mainly worried about less staff and less support at night and not being effective in an emergent situation. I interviewed, it went really well, and I'm in the final stages of possibly getting the position. But I'm nervous about nights. I just checked and saw a brand new posting for a day position in the same unit. Should I go back and tell them I prefer days? I know it's difficult for new grads to get day shift, but should I try? Has anyone started as a new grad in OB on nights, and if so, was it difficult, frightening, etc? (The training is also on nights).

Thank you for any advice!

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Specializes in CCU, cardiac tele, NICU.

Is it the OB unit of a hospital or a stand-alone birthing center? What's the training/orientation like? Do they have admitting privileges at a nearby facility? Is this position in an area that you're really passionate about?

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Hi! I'm a new grad as well. . .i feel very fortunate that i've had the opportunity to train in pp & L&D on day shift. however, once my 12 weeks are over, i'll be switching to night shift. It's been very exciting, at the same time, scary as heck! I'm amazed at how my preceptors are so organized, the don't miss a beat! charting and sve's have been challenging, not to mention the looks i get from patients when they know that i'm "in training". good luck to you! Keep in touch. . . I'd like to know how you're doing.

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Is it the OB unit of a hospital or a stand-alone birthing center? What's the training/orientation like? Do they have admitting privileges at a nearby facility? Is this position in an area that you're really passionate about?

It's at a large hospital. OB has it's own floor. The orientation is 6 months long and I was assured I wouldn't be working alone with patients for at least 3-4 weeks. The atmosphere seems supportive. I love OB, I definitely want to work there. I only worry about emergencies on the night shift. Will I be able to handle them after 6 months on the job? Also, I am a little concerned about the night shift.... lack of mom/baby teaching, no circumcisions, no amnios & other scheduled procedures. Will I learn enough?

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Hi! I'm a new grad as well. . .i feel very fortunate that i've had the opportunity to train in pp & L&D on day shift. however, once my 12 weeks are over, i'll be switching to night shift. It's been very exciting, at the same time, scary as heck! I'm amazed at how my preceptors are so organized, the don't miss a beat! charting and sve's have been challenging, not to mention the looks i get from patients when they know that i'm "in training". good luck to you! Keep in touch. . . I'd like to know how you're doing.

I'd be interested to hear the differences between day/night shift when you make the switch. How far in to training are you? It sounds like you like it so far, so that's encouraging. I hope I can do this! Have you ever worked nights before? This will be my first time. Hope I can stay awake!

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I'm not a nurse, but I've volunteered on L&D and PP for over a year now.

Babies and Moms don't stop having emergencies/being born just because it's night-time. :redpinkhe Especially if you're in a big facility, you'll still see a lot of the things you would on dayshift. Maybe not the scheduled procedures and whatnot, but I think you'll still see and learn a lot.

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Specializes in CCU, cardiac tele, NICU.

Well, if you feel like they have a good orientation process, and the floor is supportive, and you want to work there, go for it. Your first time dealing with an emergency is scary regardless of whether or not you have experience, and you're gonna have to do it at some point. :)

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

I started in OB at night as a new grad. You will still have the support of your charge nurse and more experienced nurses at night, so I wouldn't worry about that. The only thing that might be lacking in your training is OR/Cesarean experience. Do the OB nurses circulate their own cases? Don't get me wrong - there are still C/S at night, but you can't predict how many you will see, and you might go months between cases you're involved with. You can always ask to go to days for a few shifts in which there are several scheduled cases in order to get circulating experience.

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I started in OB at night as a new grad. You will still have the support of your charge nurse and more experienced nurses at night, so I wouldn't worry about that. The only thing that might be lacking in your training is OR/Cesarean experience. Do the OB nurses circulate their own cases? Don't get me wrong - there are still C/S at night, but you can't predict how many you will see, and you might go months between cases you're involved with. You can always ask to go to days for a few shifts in which there are several scheduled cases in order to get circulating experience.

In the interview, it was mentioned that I would also circulate during c/s deliveries. I bet they would let me go to days occasionally if I wasn't getting that experience at night. It seemed like they really wanted me to get the full range of experiences and would be flexible. I'm glad to hear I'll still have that support at night. I've read posts that you have to call the doctor from home and wait for them to come in and while you wait, you're expected to know how to handle things. So far I've mainly worked with elderly. It's very sad to see a bad outcome in that environment, but I think in a mom/baby environment it would be much much worse. I don't want anyone to suffer due to my inexperience which is why I'm so nervous about emergencies. I will study hard though!

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Thank you for the replies. If anyone else started as a new grad on nights in OB and did just fine or would advise against it, I would welcome your opinions.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

Is this a smaller community hospital? No deck docs or laborists at night?

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Specializes in Cardiac Care.

Well since most babies seem to want to be born late at night or in the early morning hours, unlike most other floors, OB is usually staffed very well with support including Docs and CNMs.

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