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

nancimarie · May 3, 2005

I would love to have a place to ask questions, I have been a ob nurse for just a year now:p

keep me posted

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!

SmilingBluEyes · May 4, 2005

Well you are luck, cause this is IT! Ask away, you have a great sounding board of experienced and amazing nurses, midwives, doulas and other professionals at your fingertips here!

crb613, BSN, RN · May 9, 2005

Its a VERY good indicator you are going to do VERY well! Good luck!

SmilingBluEyes, Just thought I'd let you know I did do well! Got a 92% & an A is 93% & I scored in the upper 900's on the HESI & needed 850 to pass. I will be starting med-surge in August so I am going to start on fluids & electrolytes this summer. Thanks for always being here to help!! CRB

KK7724 · May 10, 2005

Hello All,

New grad here as of May 14th 2005! I precepted on an OB floor....I spent 2 12 hour shifts doing Labor, 1 shift doing post-partum, and my last shift in the Nursery (Well-baby). Well, the asst. unit manager sought me out and said there were no labor jobs open now, but two full-time jobs in the nursery.....I asked if a job in L&D came available would I be trained? She said yes. I interviwed, got the job and was told I would be primarily in the Nursery, but also trained in Post-partum and once a month I'd go to the "Mother/Baby" unit....at our hospital I think this floor is mostly for women who have female surgery...like hysterectomies and what not. I was told in my interview (which went great...I really like the unit manager and assistant UM's) that I would get trained for L&D if a position became open because the majority of the nurses on our floor rotate back and forth. I guess what I'm trying to ask is this: Am I an OB nurse?? A Nursery nurse?? what am I??? Also, I went to my health screen for the hospital today and saw a girl that was precepting when I was from another school....she got a Labor job.....I don't know if something came up after I was done precepting....but I just hope the managers were not being dishonest when they said they would train me....do you think maybe they want me to get comfortable in Nursery, post-partum, and mother/baby before they approach the L&D aspect??? I am moving to South Carolina a year from now and I want to be the most well-rounded OB nurse I can be so I can be sure to get a job....also, I may have to take a travel assignment to get myself to SC....are there jobs out there for Nursery/Post-partum travelers?? It's hard to research this stuff because most companies don't have a direct phone number to speak to a recruiter....I am feeling a little frustrated already and haven't even started my job yet. I don't buy into the whole start out in Med/Surg first thing because I know I love the Nursery, but could I be making a mistake to start out here first with my upcoming move in a year??? Help---no one in my family is in medicine/healthcare I need some advice from some pros!!

~Kristina~

KK7724 · May 10, 2005

SmilingBluEyes, Just thought I'd let you know I did do well! Got a 92% & an A is 93% & I scored in the upper 900's on the HESI & needed 850 to pass. I will be starting med-surge in August so I am going to start on fluids & electrolytes this summer. Thanks for always being here to help!! CRB

My school does HESI as well.....According to the class that graduated before mine, it is harder than NCLEX!

~Kristina~

Graduating May 14, 2005!!!!

Newborn Nursery Nurse May 31, 2005!!!!!!!!!!!

SmilingBluEyes · May 10, 2005

SmilingBluEyes, Just thought I'd let you know I did do well! Got a 92% & an A is 93% & I scored in the upper 900's on the HESI & needed 850 to pass. I will be starting med-surge in August so I am going to start on fluids & electrolytes this summer. Thanks for always being here to help!! CRB

WAY TO GO!!!! I am truly happy for you. I think you are on the road to a brilliant career. Let us know if there is anything we can ever do to help you on your way! :balloons:

SmilingBluEyes · May 10, 2005

My school does HESI as well.....According to the class that graduated before mine, it is harder than NCLEX!
~Kristina~
Graduating May 14, 2005!!!!
Newborn Nursery Nurse May 31, 2005!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought the HESI was harder, too. I was done w/the NCLEX in 25 minutes, at 76 questions. It was so quick, I was done before I thought I had started....and VERY nervous until I had that license in my hand! Good luck to you, too. :balloons:

SmilingBluEyes · May 10, 2005

Hello All,
New grad here as of May 14th 2005! I precepted on an OB floor....I spent 2 12 hour shifts doing Labor, 1 shift doing post-partum, and my last shift in the Nursery (Well-baby). Well, the asst. unit manager sought me out and said there were no labor jobs open now, but two full-time jobs in the nursery.....I asked if a job in L&D came available would I be trained? She said yes. I interviwed, got the job and was told I would be primarily in the Nursery, but also trained in Post-partum and once a month I'd go to the "Mother/Baby" unit....at our hospital I think this floor is mostly for women who have female surgery...like hysterectomies and what not. I was told in my interview (which went great...I really like the unit manager and assistant UM's) that I would get trained for L&D if a position became open because the majority of the nurses on our floor rotate back and forth. I guess what I'm trying to ask is this: Am I an OB nurse?? A Nursery nurse?? what am I??? Also, I went to my health screen for the hospital today and saw a girl that was precepting when I was from another school....she got a Labor job.....I don't know if something came up after I was done precepting....but I just hope the managers were not being dishonest when they said they would train me....do you think maybe they want me to get comfortable in Nursery, post-partum, and mother/baby before they approach the L&D aspect??? I am moving to South Carolina a year from now and I want to be the most well-rounded OB nurse I can be so I can be sure to get a job....also, I may have to take a travel assignment to get myself to SC....are there jobs out there for Nursery/Post-partum travelers?? It's hard to research this stuff because most companies don't have a direct phone number to speak to a recruiter....I am feeling a little frustrated already and haven't even started my job yet. I don't buy into the whole start out in Med/Surg first thing because I know I love the Nursery, but could I be making a mistake to start out here first with my upcoming move in a year??? Help---no one in my family is in medicine/healthcare I need some advice from some pros!!
~Kristina~

I think it would be GREAT to start out in Mother-Baby frankly. I wish I had had the option. Where I first worked, I had to learn it all, because it was a fairly small LDRP unit (meaning, labor, delivery, recovery, post-partum). So it was a very steep curve for me. The nursery, I assume, is a "well baby" or Level 2 nursery, right? If so, it's ok to start out there, too. You will become very comfortable with normal infant care/feeding/habits/healthy characteristics first. Nothing at all wrong with that. You can then move on to Mother-Baby/Post partum and then L/D. I think that progression would provide you the best background and learning experience. Slow and easy does it, really.

But be sure you DO get to do L/D if that is what is promised. Ask about "logical progression", in other words, ask them how long they plan to keep you working first, in the nursery. Then, Mother-Baby--- and about how long it will be before your rotation to L/D begins. There is NO shame, no disgrace, in spending several months learning these areas, first. You will be a MUCH better L/D nurse than I was after a year or two, if you do it this way. I had to learn so much too fast. But where I worked, like I said, I had no choice. It was a rural setting, the only hospital around for about 50 miles. If I had had a choice, knowing what I do now, after 8 years' OB/GYN experience, I would do it the way YOU would be doing it, now.

And, do not shy away from caring for GYN surgical patients. It will ONLY make you more marketable and the job less tedious. It's an interesting area, too! Where I currently work, I do it all; LDRP, GYN surgical, and Level 2 nursery. NOT ever BORING for me. I am glad to have all the experience I do, because I can work anyplace BUT, perhaps, the Level 3 NICU (I have NO desire to ever do that).

So, my advice after in all this long-winded posting, is, be patient-------try it out this way, doing the well baby nursery first, then Mother-Baby and moving onto L/D and GYN. Just make sure, if L/D is truly your goal, you will get there. Keep on bugging them after a few months' time in the other areas. You may discover after doing MBU or PP that L/D is NOT for you. Who can say? At least, having done all of them, you will know WELL what you like and don't like, before your move to South Carolina, right?

I wish you luck. I hope my answers helped. If you have more questions, please, don't hesitate to ask, ok? Congratulations on joining us and your upcoming graduation---and yes, you will be an OB/GYN nurse! Be PROUD! :balloons:

Lieda · May 10, 2005

I'm a pre-nursing student who wants to be a L & D nurse and i want to know how i would go about shadowing a l & d nurse to see if this is the nursing field i want to get in to.

SmilingBluEyes · May 11, 2005

You can ask at an OB department at a nearby hospital. Or you can try volunteering in a hospital, meeting nurses and possibly shadowing them that way. Hope this helps!

BandEmom · May 11, 2005

I saw a situation where a mother from India was calling the nurses in to change the baby's diapers. The nurse who had her said that she'd change one, but that we needed to see that she is able to care for her baby before she left the unit. This mother called throughout the day for nurses to change diapers. When asked who will change diapers at home, she said her mother in law would. Is this a common situation with this culture. The other issue I haven't mentioned yet is that there was concern about the gender of the baby. It was a girl, and the couple had asked their *midwife*(!) about abortion at 22 weeks when they learned the gender. So, we were concened. No one took the time to talk to the mom about her feelings toward the baby. If you were that nurse, what would you have done?

BandEmom · May 11, 2005

I started out in LDRP all at once and TOTALLY flopped. It was overwhelming. And I was a total die-hard ob-or-nothing new grad. I had a bad orientation though, which didn't help. But, now I am going to med-surg for six months or so they say, but I know in my heart that I have a long career ahead of me and that I'll return to OB very soon. I WISH I could have just done only post partum care, or just nursery without the pressure of labor. You will feel so much more on top of things and confident by learning one thing at a time. Good luck, I hope to keep hearing from you here.