new grads entering L&D

[stelarRN]

I would love to work in L&D, and my question is do new grads ever get hired on this unit or would I have to do a certain amount of time on med-surg first?

For those nurses currently working L&D how did you get hired into this dept?

[carcahil]

I knew L&D is what I wanted to do as a nurse so while doing my L&D clinicals, I made contacts with the nurses and quite a few recommended me to the manager. She and I met and I hired on as a (very) part time PCT until I graduated, then immediately began my L&D RN training. (My hospital does not hire student externs in L&D so this was the best option.) The transition was pretty smooth since I knew the back workings of the unit, as well as know the nurses. Good luck!

[L&DRN2008]

I worked as a tech (I teched on a different floor and contacted the mgr on L&D) and was then hired as a grad nurse right out of school. I will tell you that it is difficult to right out of school! There is a HUGE learning curve and being a new rn made that learning curve even bigger! Having a good preceptor will make all of the difference in the world.

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

All this depends on where you are. Some hospitals will hire new grads to L/D, others want a year of experience. At my place, L/D does not hire new grads. We recently had a girl working mother/baby with us for a year before she switched to L/D because that was what she ultimately wanted to do but couldn't as a new grad.

It never hurts to apply; the worst that can happen is that they don't hire new grads. If you want to get your foot in the door, a position in mother/baby or nursery would be a good way to do it. Good luck!!

[PrettyNurse25]

i, too, wants to work in L&D, i did my preceptorship in that dept but unfortunately, they were not hiring at the time...and to make matter worst...I AM A NEW GRAD! i just got passed my boards a week ago. being a new RN is hard

[jenrninmi, MSN, RN]

It really depends on the hospital. No hospital in my area would hire you in l&d, but sometimes they will in mother/baby or NICU

[jenrninmi, MSN, RN]

i, too, wants to work in L&D, i did my preceptorship in that dept but unfortunately, they were not hiring at the time...and to make matter worst...I AM A NEW GRAD! i just got passed my boards a week ago. being a new RN is hard

Congratulations on passing your boards!! It will get better! )

[mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP]

We are a closed OB unit were we do it all, L&D, PP and nursery. Our unit manager had to finally say no to new grads this last year and is now requiring at least 1 year of experience as a RN. We are too small of a unit to support the needs of a new grad and they've see too many new nurses tumble and fall hard in there and never make a good come back. It's an injustice to them. She encourages them to get a job with the hospital somewhere and then try in a year.

Our sister hospital which is strictly a women's hospital still hires new grads into L&D but they only hire about 2 a year because it just got to overwhelming to staff to train new grads.

This is just my and my opinion so please take it for what it is worth. L&D is a tough place to work. Clinical skills - which can be taught are just a small fraction of what you need to do well. My experience prior to L&D was all ER and I still struggle.

I love, love, love my job but there is no way that I would've loved my job as a new grad. It would've been too overwhelming to too nerve wracking. I am extremely thankful for my experience before I moved to L&D and again, it just makes me love and appreciate my job that much more.

[LelaRN]

As a Postpartum and Newborn Nursery Nurse, I've seen the difference between getting a patient from a L&D nurse with experience -vs-a new grad, for both the mom and the Baby. For the Mom it really "erks" me when they transfer the pt. who is still numb from the epidural and hasn't emptied her bladder nor did the nurse bother to cath. her-- that's a set up for hemorrhage. For the Baby, I can't stand when a inexperienced nurse knows she assessed poor APGAR scores and the baby is grunting and tachypneic and instead of having NICU come to asses the baby, they wrap the baby and send it to Well Baby Nursery, when the baby should have gone to NICU. This area of nursing ranks the highest for Law Suits, ask any OB/GYN Physician about malpractice insurance and they'll probably growl at you. Unfortunately yes the busy Georgia hospital I work at will hire an RN straight out of school for both L&D and NICU, and a lot of time's I can see where it's a bad idea. I worked Med-Surg, Tele, Clinic and ER triage before coming to M/B to take it easy for a few years.:wink2:

[crysobrn]

We have hired a new grad in each of the last three summers. Personally I think that they should all have had some med/surg experience first. I just see a big difference between them and someone who has some background somewhere else.

We are also a smaller unit and we do all our own L&D, antepartums, evals/triage, nursery, intermediate nursery etc... often there are only TWO nurses working (once they are off orientation)... I feel more comfortable with the girls that have some other sort of medical background, than those that came right out of nursing school and rush to L&D.

We are hoping that our director listens and stops hiring those right out of school.

[stelarRN]

thanks for all your replies :) they've been really helpful.

i think i'd like to gain more experience before i get into L&D, NICU, etc., and based upon your responses i agree that a year on another floor is wise.

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

Best of luck either way!!! :)