Another New Grad

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Published

I was so happy to find this site! I have enjoyed so much reading everyone's postings! I just graduated this week (it's finally over!). I have an L&D job lined up at a large, very busy, hospital. I am so excited. Finally, an opportunity to do pt care more than once a week!

I have to say though, my biggest worry is the doctors. Frankly, they scare me! How stupid is that!!!! It's embarrassing. One bad experience on an OR rotation, and I was messed up. I am a very confident person. A perfectionist. An over acheiver. But to confront a doc.....:chair:

Any tips??

Another question is similar to that of another new grad posting, in that, what can I be doing to prepare (other than pooring through the 2000 page Maternal Child Care Book)? I recieved a Fetal Monitoring Book today from the unit. But being the go getter that I am, and feeling that I have much more to prove than the other 2 new grads that have been techs on the unit, I want to be one step ahead.

Any helpful tips are welcomed for the woman who still can't believe, she is a :nurse: !

Yo, woman!! chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllllllllllllllllllllllllll. ;)

First and foremost, congrats. Second, ya gotta lose the perfectionist gig for at least a few months while you're learnin' the ropes. You're GONNA screw up!! And the beauty of it is, NO ONE WILL THINK ANY LESS OF YOU FOR IT!! I PROMISE!! :D

Learning your fetal monitoring is GREAT. Fantastic. That is your 'base.' Learn a few drugs, a few relaxation and breathing techniques, and some basic stuff about epidurals, and then just take it as it comes.

Don't be so hard on yourself!! We OB nurses are a fun group. We HAVE to have a relaxed attitude and warped sense of humor by nature....look at what we deal with!! LOL!! I just so want you to enjoy yourself and your experience as a new grad...really, I do. Try not to have such astronomical expectations of yourself!!

As for dealing with the docs, well, at large teaching hospitals you're going to have residents. The fab thing about residents is that lots of 'em are just learning OB too, and won't bite your head off. And if they do, they will get smacked around for it by the older nurses.....TRUST ME. Working with residents, although frustrating when you got a stupid one or a jerk, was fun for the most part because they were young and fun and realized they needed the nurses and viewed us as colleagues, not 'underlings.'

I don't know what happened w/that OR doc and you, but let me let you in on a little secret....surgeons aren't known for their sparkling personalities...it probably wasn't YOU. ;) Don't worry about 'confronting' docs right now, that's not your problem. You're learning. Confronting is your preceptor's job. Seriously. You SHOULDN'T be expected to 'confront' anyone right now.

Please check back w/us and let us know how it's going and let us know if we can help you!! OB can be a lot of fun (stressful, screaming fun in a warped sense of humor way....lol!), but the average time it takes to feel 'comfortable' is ONE YEAR. That's normal and your fellow nurses will expect that you won't have it all 'down pat' right away. They'll be there for you.

So congrats, good luck, and HAVE FUN!! We look forward to hearing how it's going!!:kiss

I agree 100% with shay's post. Also wanted to add that L+D nurses tend to have a better repoire with the L+D doctors than in other areas. You are working together pretty closely (you become his/her right arm!), so you get to know each other alot better.

I worked in ortho for about a year before I went to L+D, and floated to many med-surg units during that time. I found that many of the docs were such a pain to deal with during that year! But, since starting in L+D, I've rarely had problems (just the occasional pompous jerk), even from the beginnning.

Best of luck to you!

Best wishes,

Michelle

+ Add a Comment