Why do other floors think OB isn't real work?

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Published

Got report from some guy in PACU on a post GYN surgery patient they were sending to us. He made some comment about how I must have become an OB nurse so I could "take it easy and not have to do any real work". Why do other floors often think LDRP is the cushy floor? I have never worked so hard in all my nursing days. I am constantly running. In fact my "easiest" days are when I only have post GYN surgery patients! I love doing LDRP, but's it's NOT always happy and fun and it's anything but easy - Why do others think this?

I forgot another group, those physician's office nurses just sit around and answer phones all day and drink coffee.;)

(In case someone hasn't read all the posts, we're just jokin' y'all)

Hey now, I thought they just sat waiting for all the free pens from the drug reps! They answer phones too? :lol2: ;)

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Hey now, I thought they just sat waiting for all the free pens from the drug reps! They answer phones too? :lol2: ;)

Ah, FORGOT the PENS.:lol2:

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

We have a running joke amongs us men on the floor that "your time has come to float to OB." Since our hospital does not allow male nurses in OB we're safe, but just tell one of our female comrads that they're floating out of tele to OB and watch the tears flow!!!

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Specializes in Acute rehab/geriatrics/cardiac rehab.
I think a lot has to do with the fact we MOSTLY deal with healthy patients undergoing a normal and healthy situation, birth.

But I have found many a nurse who either floated or moved to our OB unit to "get a break" learned real quickly it was not quite the "easy street" Unit they thought it to be. You are either an OB nurse or not, and if you are not, it is miserable for you to work there.

I otherwise would not worry what other nurses say. We know what it takes to be a good OB nurse, and that is all that matters.

I have a certain respect for OB nurses.....the idea of working with newborns scares me....I spent most of my time on my rotation in OB when I was a student nurse thinking of how infants are little, slippery, etc. and as one experienced OB nurse told me if you have 4 moms you have 4 babies.....As an RN I have only worked with adults...Give me an elderly stroke patient or someone crawling out of their bed with dementia and I'm more relaxed.....I think it all depends on where you feel comfortable. Strangely enough...as a rehabilitation nurse i've had folks say that we too are not "real nurses" (guess they never tried to handle 6 patients with anything from Brain Injuries to dementia to spinal cord injuries to strokes, etc. etc, pegs, tracheotomies, neb treatments, etc...The other night I ran for 8 hours and finally was able to eat around shift report time .... We truly need to appreciate the work of nurses in other specialties outside our own...... Nursing, no matter the area, is hard work!!

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Specializes in Emergency.

Hey folks the key here is in the first five words of the original post. "Got report from some guy"

Since most places dont generally let male nurses work L&D/Gyn a comment as such might happen more often than we would like. Personally I give every nurse no matter where they work the benefit of the doubt until they prove otherwise.

Rj

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My Mom is a 78 year old RN who has been licensed since she was 21 years old...licensed on her 21st birthday, to be exact. Yep, do the math. She works part-time in pediatrics now.

And NEVER, EVER, in my life--I'm 45--have I ever seen, heard, or know of anything in nursing that is easy. Some services might be less physically intense, but never easy.

My Mom loves it, and will go out white shoes first rather than retire, but I have never heard anything she has described that would make me think nursing is easy. That's why there are not enough nurses anywhere!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Geri, Ortho, Telemetry, Psych.

In my eleven years as a nurse I have never heard anyone say such things about OB nurses. I didn't even know people felt that way until I read the original post. I work med/surg and LTC. When I started nursing school I wanted to be a "baby nurse". Well when I got to my OB clinicals I found out that sometimes babies are sick, and even worse, they sometimes die. So I knew I could not deal with that. If I had to take that home every night I would lose my mind. That is not the kind of job that I could "leave at work". So the OB nurses are the ones that I have the most respect for. I don't know how you do it, but I thank God that you do. I bow to them, and I don't bow to just anybody.:bowingpur

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I forgot another group, those physician's office nurses just sit around and answer phones all day and drink coffee.;)

(In case someone hasn't read all the posts, we're just jokin' y'all)

Well then.....

In that case I'm transferring to the outpatient/professional building because I love to drink coffee and talk on the phone.

A career match made in heaven. I'd be their best candidate for a position.

Goodbye ICU and PACU.

LOL.:lol2:

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People just don't understand other people's jobs sometimes. I was at ACLS and was the only med-surg nurse there. The Critical Care educator was telling us about the new Rapid Response Team............"it's to help the med-surg nurse, because they don't have good assessment skills and we can talk to the doctor for them because they aren't comfortable talking to doctors".

Whatever.

That is the most ignorant statement....and to come from a so-called "educator"?

Ugh...anyway:

Our rapid response team system is just over a year old now and has been enormously successful.

I take turns with others in ICU on this team from time to time and it's working out very well for the floor patients and staff but not for any of the reasons your "Critical Care Educator" mentioned.

Med/surg nurses have excellent assessment skills which is why they called a rapid response in the first place.

They obviously can see that something's going wrong and it's not easy to have one of your 5-6 patients turn into an ICU patient and give them the attention they need along with the rest of your assignment.

Why does she think that ICU nurses only have 2 patient assignments in the first place?

Oh well, I'm preaching to the choir, I know... but I had to go off because rapid response has been an excellent thing to have at our facilty but not for any of those reasons listed by your so-called "educator".

And I'd hate for any of our med/surg floor nurses to be under the impression that it was put in place because the floor nurses aren't doing a good enough job or have substandard skills because that has nothing to do with it and couldn't be farther from reality.

Some "educator" he/she is...... introducing the staff to the concepts and purpose of Rapid Response teams. :angryfire

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Specializes in LDRP.

I work in L&D/antepartum-not mother/baby.

I hate when people say stuff to me like I "just play with babies all day" or "get to hold babies all day". first of all, i hardly hold the babies, darn those new mommies that want to hold their babies-i just dont get to!. plus, the whole "play" thing makes it sound like easy work.

I think also, that people not in healthcare think that OB is easy. Ya know, we get to watch people have babies all day and thats it. They dont think about the sick mommies, the dead babies, etc taht we see sometimes. It is a great fun job, sure, but so heartbreaking at times, too.

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I have heard same comments too...the dude is just jealous....just kidding'...he just doesn't know how busy we get...i'm pretty sure he has not been around screaming women that are in pain and hormones...

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

;) OH I wish folks like this could have followed me on my last shift. It was HORRIBLE.......crazy busy and high acuity type stuff, (yes OB patients can be very sick as we know), mixed with some psych cases (one patient and her family) that caused us to go into lockdown all over the hospital. Fun times were had by all.

Ah such is the life of a lazy, baby-rocking, break-taking, non-working OB nurse......

I wish.:nono:

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