Thoughts on Maternity nursing.

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Published

This semster I am taking Maternity nursing. What I thought would be kinda boring is actually very interesting especially in High Risk. But I have come across classmates that wrinkle their noses at the thought of even working in the L/D,High Risk, PP departments. They feel this is not "real nursing" I can see how ER,ICU,CCU might be more dynamic in some aspects I guess.

But I wanted to get some views of those that have worked in the field for awhile. Do you compare yourselves to the other fields of nursing? Feel you are doing a "lesser" job? One of my instructors said esp. for High Risk nursing, "You have two patients, not just one."

What are your thoughts?

Specializes in ER, Peds, Charge RN.

OK, here is what I've heard:

when I did OB, I wasn't a "real nurse" because my patients "weren't sick, just having babies."

when I did ER, I wasn't a "real nurse" because I would see and discharge a patient in the matter of an hour, and real nurses had their patients for a long time.

when I did clinicals in the OR, those nurses weren't a "real nurse" because their patients were asleep.

Med/Surg: those weren't "real nurses" because they had so much help from CNAs and LPN's, the RN would "only see your patients once a day for an assessment."

So really, where are the real nurses? It seems to me like we're all faking. :rolleyes:

Seriously though, do what you want to do. I don't know why random people's opinions matter so much to others these days.... your only judge is your mamma and your God, so do right by them and yourself, and you'll be fine.

Nursing, like medicine is so highly specialized. I am amazed when I step out of my comfort zone.......L & D..... at the massive explosion of info on med-surg ( where I previously worked ). The professional nurse strives to update her skills and knowledge in her field and respects others efforts to do the same. There will always be negativity from others. There are times when OB is "slow" and others resent it, thinking we are just sitting. In reality, we are catching up with our competencies, policies etc. that we don't have time for when we are busy. We don't circulate for our C-sections ( staffing reasons ) and OR has been particularly critical of us with a lot of tension resulting.........and reporting etc. Good management can squelch this nonsense, but that is hard to come by sometimes. I know my skills and don't feel compelled to convince anyone but my patients that I am capable. Walk through any supermarket in your town after years of OB and you will see someone whose eyes light up when they see you......"You were there for my first ( or second etc ) baby !!!" Sorry to say I dont' remember the 100s of patients over the years but the patients can give you every detail.

I personally don't find sacral wounds, restraints, vents, MRSA/VRE, codes, old male patients, explosive diarrhea, ect all that interesting. Actually, a lot of med/surg is gross to me. I like the atmosphere of maternity much better.

Specializes in OB.

Wait until these people see a OB case turn from low risk to PIH, to fetal distress to and emergency c-section, to a PPH, to DIC. Or see a shoulder distocia with a full resucitation of the newborn. To say that these are not real nurses because the patients are just having a baby is crazy.

Whould they trust thier own baby's life to someone who is not a "real" nurse? I don't think so. Every nurse has thier own calling to a specialty, I wouldn't want to do anything else. We have been called "spoiled" by other units because we only have 1-2 pts. but when told "then come work OB with all the "spoiled" nurses" they all look at us like we are crazy!

To each his own.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Unlike many think; OB is NOT for the faint of heart. SURE we deal with mostly healthy woman undergoing what should be a joyous and normal occasion in their lives. But like said above, ob patients are funny; they can go from doing fine to very sick quickly-----pre-eclampsia to HELLP comes to mind here as a particularly ugly example. We ARE at times, critical care nurses as well as OB nurses. And those "healthy" patients, well when they go bad, they go very bad, very quickly.

I just feel privileged to be part of the birthing experiences of my families. I feel truly lucky and gifted and do enjoy my job almost all the time. Easy? NO but very rewarding as I bond readily with my patients and their loved ones. And they always remember me; cant' count how many times former patients stopped me at Safeway or Target, showing off a toddler or older child to me and crying out " HEY it's my nurse---do you remember Joey here being born? You were so kind to us when you took care of me. " or some other similiar occasion. I really do enjoy knowing I do make a difference in some people's lives and they never forget me.

The most-treasured moment in recent memory? I was at Safeway after a horribly ugly nightshift---I must have looked a wreck---I was just dead on my feet and just wanted to get a couple things I forgot for dinner and get out of there and go home to bed. A lady I never met before tapped my shoulder and asked me, "are you by chance, a nurse". When I replied yes, she gave me a hug and said, "I just want to thank you. Nurses work so hard for so little appreciation. I have had the blessing of having loved ones under the care of some amazing nurses. You guys are the tops in my book. Thank you for what you do" .....it was the day before Thanksgiving and I started tearing up when she said that. I was just thinking that day how much I hated my job at times. That comment turned that all around for me that day. Talk about giving thanks.

Nursing is not easy, but people DO appreciate what we do. I know this to be true.

Just thought I would throw this out there. All of those "REAL" nurses would have puppies if we drug them into a labor room and told them to manage the patient and delivery - esp. if anything went wrong. Heck, most of the floor nurses I know have puppies just thinking about the possiblity of that ever happening. :lol2:

Specializes in icu,ccu, er, corrections.

I have never thought of a nurse, in any area of nursing, as anything other than a professional nurse. We, thankfully, all have different loves in this very wide open field. I personally do not like L/D, and so am very greatful to those of us that do want to work there. I tend to look up to L/D nurses because it is an area that I am so out of touch with, and yes I hate it when laboring patients drop into the ER too late to get to L/D.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Just was thinking about my Air Force experiences. I remember people saying "you are not in the 'real Air Force' " to me. It was because I was not flying planes as a pilot or out in the para-rescue forces or something. I found no matter where I went, each base was not "part of the real Air Force". Nobody I knew was in the "real Air Force". WHY? Because the "real Air Force" did not exist except in a few elitist minds. I can see many parallels in the nursing profession with the military attitude, here as I think about it.

Fact is, we are ALL "real nurses" just as I, being active duty in the miltary, was surely a part of the "real Air Force". Heck, I have the paperwork and stories to PROVE it! Don't let what others say sway you. We ARE "real nurses". Just ask our patients!

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