Please Help...Info on your specialty

[PowercarveJen]

Hello all-

I am a 4th semester BSN student graduating in May. I am doing a paper on a specialty area and chose obstetrics. I am hoping someone can clarify some info for me. It is my understanding that the BON in each state sets the scope and standards of practice for all RN's. Does AWHONN set the specific standards of practice for WH, O,and N nursing? If not who does? The information I found on additional certification is the RNC(inpatient obstetric and Matenal newborn) and CCRN(neonatal). I found the certificates in EFM and breastfeeding. Is there additional certification that can/must be be obtained. I also need some info on the roles and responsibilities that come with this specialty? Are you all required to have NRP or other l(like ACLS)? Are there any other obstetrical nurses associations besides AWHONN? I greatly appreciate any info you provide. Have any of you worked NICU and how do you compare the two in the pro/con area. Thanks- Jenny

[nrsnan_1]

Wow, lots of questions here. I may not be able to address all but I'll give a shot at a few. Yes, each states BON sets the scope of practice for RNS. Our professional organization, AWHONN establishes standards of practice recommendations. Becoming certified in inpatient OB and other certifications are not necessarily required for most institutions although I have worked places were they would pay for the certification and strongly encouraged it. NRP is required everywhere (OH, KY, NC, LA) I have worked but ACLS has not been. Encouraged but not required. Responsibilities include antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum and newborn care, beginning to end. It is an awesome job with lots of liability. You have to love it to do it. Shift work, on call, overtime, paperwork....all the joys of nursing )

Best of luck to you.

[PowercarveJen]

Wow, lots of questions here. I may not be able to address all but I'll give a shot at a few. Yes, each states BON sets the scope of practice for RNS. Our professional organization, AWHONN establishes standards of practice recommendations. Becoming certified in inpatient OB and other certifications are not necessarily required for most institutions although I have worked places were they would pay for the certification and strongly encouraged it. NRP is required everywhere (OH, KY, NC, LA) I have worked but ACLS has not been. Encouraged but not required. Responsibilities include antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum and newborn care, beginning to end. It is an awesome job with lots of liability. You have to love it to do it. Shift work, on call, overtime, paperwork....all the joys of nursing )

Best of luck to you.

Thank you very much for replying- I am sue that it is a wonderful part of nursing and I cannot figure out where I am supposed to be Perinatal or neonatal. I just hope God guides me to where HE wants me. Thanks again-Jenny

[imenid37]

Hi and good luck w/ your paper. At our hospital we are required to be certified in BCLS, ACLS, and NRP. We have a number of nurses who are certified as in-pt. ob, maternal-newborn, or low risk neonatal from the NCC. See their website nccnet.org. ANA also has a perinatal nursing specilaty cert. Their info. is at nursingworld.org/ancc/. Some of us have fetal monitoring which can be obtained several different ways. Mine is from NCC. Michelle Murray also has an EFM certification exam. She is the nurse-guru of EFM. Her website is at http://www.fetalmonitoring.com I'd like to try NICU, sometimes I do so not totally willingly, as we deal w/ whatever comes through the door in our small hospital until we can get them where they need to go. There are lots of different ways of organizing ob/neonatal units. AWHONN does outline a number of practice standards, though many hospitals feel they are wiser than this organization and refuse to adhere to them. (For example deciding that nurses should have more pt's than reccomended by AWHONN). I went into OB 14 years ago after 3 years in telemetry and I"ve never been sorry. Again all of the best to you!