New Nurse & OB. Is it possible?

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · Oct 18, 2008

My advice~~~Keep a totally open mind. I like you wanted to work in OB, all through schoool I said "I am going to work in OB"~favorite class was OB, High A in OB. Any Med Surg paper I would have to write I would try and put an OB spin on it.

Well upon graduation there were no openings in OB. I figured I would take a Med Surge job until one came up. Then the ICU mgr came and spoke with me and asked why I wanted OB...he then convinced me to come join his team.

Every thing I thought I would love about OB I love about ICU. Low ratios, complete care, lots of teaching, lots of autonomy, close interaction with the MDs. I learn somehting new everyweek. I am able to assist families at some of their darkest times ~~ok that is opposite of OB~~

6months after joining ICU an OB job came avail and the OB mgr was SURE I would apply, she questioned why she didnt see my name on her desk. I told her, maybe next year.

Honestly I could not imagine working any where else right now, someday I may make a great OB nurse, but now I am happy to call ICU home.

OBGYN*RN · Oct 18, 2008

Thank you for your advice..and I will definetely keep that in mind. I know that having an open mind in nursing is extremly important. The only thing is..I really do not like med surg. During my clinicals and coursework that was med surg related I really didnt enjoy it. There were times when I actually was getting discouraged because I thought I picked the wrong major. I was terrified that I had gotten all the way to my junior year of school and STILL didnt really completely love nursing. Then came OB...my saving grace. Made me wanna go to class..wanna go to clinical..wanna study even when i didnt have to..wanna get to know the ins and out of the speciality...wanna spend hours on the ANA website looking up OB related topics. I even still keep in contact with my OB clinical instructor to this day and that was a year ago. I said all that to say that OB made me LOVE nursing and helped me realize that I did pick the right profession..it just took some time to figure out what direction I wanted to go. So if any of you have any advice on the odds of getting into an OB job out of college I would appreciate it. Do you think I would have better luck getting into Postpartum and then working my way to L&D??

cvssc · Oct 18, 2008

As a student I wanted to work OB. When I applied for an extern position, there were none. I worked PCU for 3 years and transferred to OB. This experience helped so much. However, it depends where you are. I moved, but still worked agency in the L&D unit I was hired in. After this last graduation, there was not a need for agency nurses because their staffing was full. This was filled with new grads.

As the other person said. Keep an open mind. Something else may help you in what you want to do.

Good Luck!!

GoBabyGo · Oct 18, 2008

As a student I wanted L & D. Simply... I was happy there, I excelled there, and it was my calling. Upon graduation I was presented with an opportunity to become part of a prestigious ICU fellowship program. There were a million reasons to take it, so I did. Excellent training, opportunity, experience, and all the other reasons you may get to possibly change your course from OB. I was absolutely miserable in ICU. Thank God for the support of my hospital and my manager, who helped me follow my original passion... back to L & D. I'm still considered a new grad, so I entered a program for new grads that my hospital offers specifically for those new L & D nurses. There are positions out there, but be prepared to work full-time nights. By the way, the point to my story is to follow your passion. The first job out of school really sets the tone for the rest of your career. The great thing about nursing is the ability to change specialties, but in the end it would have been a lot easier if I would have held out for an OB position. Hope this helps. P.S. You're going to get a lot of nurses telling you why you should not specialize as a new grad....so be prepared.

OBGYN*RN · Oct 18, 2008

Thank you so much GoBabyGo. I really appreciate it. And yes im BEYOND prepared for the nurses who say you shouldnt specialize fresh out of school..I hear it quite often already. And I do understand that experience is important..and doing general med surg for atleast a year would set a good foundation and make me more marketable to transition to other areas. But on the other hand I also know I am a very determined and hard working young lady and enthusiasm and drive goes along way in nursing. And although the OB pursuit might be difficult coming out of school with no experience..I'm prepared to work my butt off to atleast try. And again thanks for your response.

iteachob, MSN, RN · Oct 18, 2008

How's this for hope? My FIRST job was in OB on dayshift!

OBGYN*RN · Oct 18, 2008

Thats very encouraging! Did you have to do anything special to get the job or did the unit have alot of positions available? Thats great and on day shift too..thats even better.

jeepgirl, LPN, NP · Oct 18, 2008

Thank you for your advice..and I will definetely keep that in mind. I know that having an open mind in nursing is extremly important. The only thing is..I really do not like med surg. During my clinicals and coursework that was med surg related I really didnt enjoy it. There were times when I actually was getting discouraged because I thought I picked the wrong major. I was terrified that I had gotten all the way to my junior year of school and STILL didnt really completely love nursing. Then came OB...my saving grace. Made me wanna go to class..wanna go to clinical..wanna study even when i didnt have to..wanna get to know the ins and out of the speciality...wanna spend hours on the ANA website looking up OB related topics. I even still keep in contact with my OB clinical instructor to this day and that was a year ago. I said all that to say that OB made me LOVE nursing and helped me realize that I did pick the right profession..it just took some time to figure out what direction I wanted to go. So if any of you have any advice on the odds of getting into an OB job out of college I would appreciate it. Do you think I would have better luck getting into Postpartum and then working my way to L&D??

you - and everyone else - wants to work OB when they get out of school. seriously.

you MUST have a good, solid med-surg background when it comes to OB. just because you didn't "like" med surg during school does not mean that this information is not important in an OB/PP setting.

lots of new grads go into maternal/child when getting out of school. it is very competitive, because everyone wants OB. but i think that it is important to realize that the learning you have gained in med / surg is VALUABLE and needed in OB as well.

OBGYN*RN · Oct 18, 2008

Just to explain myself..I never said I didnt think med surg was important or needed, i just stated that i prefer to work in OB. I'm not downing med surg or by any means saying i want to somehow "get away from it" by going to OB. I am just interested in OB and thats the route I would realy like to take. And while it might be true that "everyone" wants to work in OB, I hear that alot...But I dont consider myself like "everyone else" and I believe I have alot to offer and would like to give my best in the field that I am extremely enthusiastic about. But thanks for your advice. I do sometimes feel like there are several nurses who sometimes discourage new nurses and students rather than encourage and empower them. There is a fine line between giving students the "real deal" and just being a bit discouraging. Im not directing this at you in particular..ive just noticed that in general.

Jules A, MSN · Oct 18, 2008

you - and everyone else - wants to work OB when they get out of school. seriously.
you MUST have a good, solid med-surg background when it comes to OB. just because you didn't "like" med surg during school does not mean that this information is not important in an OB/PP setting.
lots of new grads go into maternal/child when getting out of school. it is very competitive, because everyone wants OB. but i think that it is important to realize that the learning you have gained in med / surg is VALUABLE and needed in OB as well.

Several of my fellow students started out in OB, Mother/Baby and one in NICU. Most facilities have great orientation programs for new grads and while I agree that time in med-surg is valuable no matter where you end up it isn't necessary in many places now.

iteachob, MSN, RN · Oct 18, 2008

Thats very encouraging! Did you have to do anything special to get the job or did the unit have alot of positions available? Thats great and on day shift too..thats even better.

Actually, I guess I was in the right place at the right time, apparantly. Especially because what I had requested was CCU or telemetry (on any shift).

By the way, I disagree with the poster who says you need a solid med-surg background. Sure, it is nice, but not necessary. I have little med-surg background, it was all obtained after I worked OB.....and, I'm an OB nursing professor (even with that tiny bit of med-surg background to my credit). I have numerous past students who have gone straight into (and remain in) OB!