New OB Nurses, Grads and Students, Please Feel Free to post your questions here:

[SmilingBluEyes]

Mugwump had a great idea offering services to new grads as a mentor (thank you for that!)

So, I thought having a "sticky" for new grads, OB nurses, students, and others with questions who want to post these can do so here. We also seem to see many of the same questions over and over, so perhaps this would help serve as an ongoing discussion of common issues/questions we all seem to have on our minds. This could serve not just for those asking directly, but others who may be "lurking" and looking for information or considering a career in OB, newborn, GYN nursing, or midwifery, doula services, childbirth education, lactation consulting, or other related work.

So if any mod thinks this is a good idea, mind stickying this?

Let's give this a go and see how it works out. We have many potential "mentors" here among us who, I am sure, would LOVE to help a new nurse/midwife/doula or student on his or her way to a rewarding career. I know I would love to help out!

[81Bubbles, BSN, RN]

Halo425 sounds like you had an excellent interview and I wish you all the best.

[Sarah K, RN]

Luv, the Ediburgh Postpartum Depression Scale is the standard from what I understand, but I think it's more focused on the 6 wk visit after going home. There are some studies where it was used in-hospital with good results.

Here's a link : http://www.aap.org/practicingsafety/Toolkit_Resources/Module2/EPDS.pdf

[maryrox]

Hi there. I just want to ask you guys why id you choose to become an Ob nurse? I just need your feedback. Thanks :)

[LuvofNursing, BSN, MSN, RN]

hi there. i just want to ask you guys why id you choose to become an ob nurse? i just need your feedback. thanks :)

i have always been interested in women's health... every aspect of it. i feel like it is a relatable field for me since i am a healthy mother of 2. i have felt what many of these women are feeling and it comes natural to help them through this time of their life.

i also love the population that i am working with. we have many young moms who are not educated on how to do the mommy thing/breastfeeding thing, etc. i love, love to teach them and have the "light go on" for them. i also work with many hispanic, non-english speaking women, and it challenges me to learn about ob spanish.

last of all, it was the one unit that i woke up every morning before clinical and was beaming. i love waking up for work (okay, not the waking up part, but i love my job). i love being specialized, and i love that floating to different positions in ob only serves to better prepare me for the women on my unit (postpartum/nursery).

i flip-flopped through many things when i first graduated, because there will be instructors that try to steer you toward different specialties or m/s, but when it comes down to it, you are the one going to work everyday in that unit, not your instructor.

all (great) nurses strive to be the best at their position. if you continue to learn, try not to get desensitized to patient care and are always aware that each patient is unique and deserves your undivided attn and care, you will be great wherever you decide to go.

good luck!

[SkoolyBear23]

What are the roles and responsibilities of a company nurse???

[JentheOBRN]

As far as I know....its basically employee health. Prevention and LOADS of teaching!! You planning to go that route?

Jen

[sweeetRN, BSN, RN]

I will be a new grad in a couple of months and I am really interested in Post Partum nursing.

What I've been seeing at every hospital in San Diego is that in order to do any L&D nursing positions, you have to have at least one year experience in the area.

Is this the case for everyone? How do you fulfill that if you cannot get an L&D position as a new grad?

Does working as an RN for an OB GYN clinic or a PHN in maternal infant health fulfill this too? Makes me nervous thinking that I might not be able to get my dream job...help!

[JentheOBRN]

Hi!

As a new grad myself, and even with several years as a doula, I still had to move to a small town to get started in OB. I'm from the Bay Area and had to move away from there to get a job in Mother/Baby. Now after a year I will be moving to L&D in the next few months for training.

I strongly advise you to stay with hospital OB and not move to clinics. Clinics are great but prenatal care is not what we really care about when they get to us. You will learn more about pregnancy and conception but the whole birth process will elude you.

You may have to move away from the urban SD or even LA areas to find a new-grad OB opportunity. I looked for 8 mos trying to be stubborn about finding a new-grad program or an entry level job. I finally took something that was a great fit! Even though I probably won't be here for more than another year or so, I will take this very valuable experience with me back to the Bay Area and will be in demand there! The other great thing is that I am in a 1 hospital county so we see EVERTHING! We do multiples, VLBW and demises regularly that I probably wouldn't have seen in a big hospital.

So go outside your comfort zone and go for it!!!!! Take care and I am always here to offer advice :)

Jen

[NeatNik]

hi all, i'm a newbie here and i was excited to see a thread for wanna be ob nurses! i'm a second degree student in the middle of an adn program and i've had my sights set on being a cnm for a long time now. it would be my dream to find an ob or post partum job straight out of schopol but i keep hearing that it's near impossible i'm sure this question has been asked a dozen times but what can i do to increase my chances to get on an l&d or post partum floor right out of school? thanks in advance!

[JentheOBRN]

Please see my post right above yours for my story :) The best way I found was to do my preceptorship in OB in my last quarter. Some are called senior preceptorship. If you are really focused, and bug the heck out of the professor that assigns them, you might get one! That will help you get on your way. Also work on your NRP and breastfeeding classes and Basic Fetal Monitoring through AWOHNN, they are all a huge plus when looking for jobs. Anything a hospital doesn't have to train you for puts you ahead of the pack. Good luck!

Jen

[rebajcn]

Hi - I graduated from Nursing school in August 2009 - This is my thrid college degree and I decided to change careers after working in my former field for 15 years - long story - anyway - I am a L and D nurse and feel completely overwhelmed and not supported by staff generally - though I have now been trying to schedule myself to work only on days that I work with those that DO support me (there are about 4 nurses I can really depend on) I went through a perinatal internship program and had a preceptor - this preceptor turned on me as soon as my orientation was over - she ridicules me and my efforts in front of my co workers as well as in front of patients - she does not teach - she criticizes - I have since changed my schedule to avoid working on any days that she does - end of story - she will overwhelm me on purpose - for instance - 30 minutes before I am to go back for c-section and prepping a pt for that, she sends me to triage to admit a patient who is a G7P6 and 6 cm dilated who is about to blow - I had not dealt with any pts this far in labor and who were nearing transition and getting those crazy eyes - and again she criticizes me in front of the pt and staff - my perceptor had often left me on my own quite frequently while I was on orientation so everything I have learned I pretty much learned from observing others or asking questions -I do not feel I got what I was supposed to out of that. I went to the CNO about this issue - not being supported, not feeling safe and my preceptor not being in the rooms with me on certain times - and simply not feeling safe - (yeah I know - now the preceptor is acting out against me for that.... but patient safety comes first always for me) and they held a big meeting about how the staff needs to support new nurses etc.blah blah blah. then my friend who was also new requested a transfer for retalitory behaviors by those on her night shift and she was granted it - It appears that if you open your mouth on this unit and speak about patient ratio concerns, or broken promises (promised transition nurses for our babies and that didn't happen) or not feeling as though you are in a safe environment, you are retaliated against. (I have been placed on call three times in 7 days) I want to request a transfer to another of our hospitals in the area as my friend did. The ones that I do work with that see this and that support me say to stick it out and to not let them get the best of me and part of me wants to do that - the other says get the hell out now! I scheduled a meeting with my interim director to get an update on my status and she wants to go over my charting to see how I have been doing. But I can tell you because I was not trained properly, I don't think it will be as good as it should be. I try to be as astute as possible - and show that in my charting - but it can be so hard when you have people breathing down your neck to get a now postpartum mom off the floor in an hour after they deliver - and then get all your charting done and complete and then not work late - it's hard for a new person - and I just feel overwhelmed, out of control and simply not the nurse I want to be and who I was when I was in school - the bigger picture and everything coming together just doesn't seem to be...

[mugwump]

Wow this is a tuff one, my first reactin when your old preceptor critisez you is to remind her that she was your preceptor and you are mirroring her behaviors. so basically when she is critisizing you she is critisizing herslef. i would also talk to the director of the WIS department, keep going at it, safety is first, jumping into situations is how you learn, keep your head and everyone should support you, voice your concers. if you need anything else, let me know