i have two job offers. One is for a day L&D position. The other is for a night post partum position.
My long term goal is to become a midwife.
Job 1 (day L&D): 35 min commute, ok wage
job 2 (night PP): 1 hour commute, $13 more an hour than job 1, best paying hospital in my city
Both jobs are the same union, so same benefits and tuition reimbursement. Both jobs are reputable fancy NYC hospitals.
I am deliberating the pros and cons and would highly value insight on this forum. My long term goal matters. I know I will learn a lot of valuable skills on both floors, but I really would appreciate people chiming in.
Have you ever worked L&D? Everyone gets all excited about the idea of delivering babies, but the reality is that it's a lot of hard work. If you've never done it I would say take the L&D job to make sure you really like it before going to school for two years to become a midwife.
Have you ever worked L&D? Everyone gets all excited about the idea of delivering babies, but the reality is that it's a lot of hard work. If you've never done it I would say take the L&D job to make sure you really like it before going to school for two years to become a midwife.
I’ve worked with out of hospital birth. I know it can be exhausting but I find it very stimulating. I also love teaching and want to become a CLC which is why post partum seems like it would be a great fit, too. I believe midwifery would include aspects of both jobs.
I'm a midwife and trust me, you want L&D. Anybody can learn postpartum in a few days...it's very much like a post-op floor (whether you've had a c-section or not). Just pick up postpartum shifts as you go.
I disagree completely that postpartum nursing experience is that unimportant. However, based on what you've shared both in this thread and in your PM, I would take the L&D job.
I feel l&d would provide more insight in how to manage laboring mothers and how to respond in emergent situations. You will also get some post part I’m skills in there as well. Plus breastfeeding (golden hour). ?. If it’s a busy facility you will most likely have some PP overflow...
I disagree completely that postpartum nursing experience is that unimportant. However, based on what you've shared both in this thread and in your PM, I would take the L&D job.
If money isn’t an issue, take the L&D job. I’ve worked in PP, and I don’t feel like what you learn there applies to the bulk of midwifery. Now if you take the PP job and have opportunities to float to Antepartum, that might be helpful.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
21 hours ago, LibraSunCNM said:
I disagree completely that postpartum nursing experience is that unimportant. However, based on what you've shared both in this thread and in your PM, I would take the L&D job.
I also don't agree that anyone can learn postpartum nursing in a few shifts. I think that really devalues the knowledge of postpartum nurses. I can tell you that my postpartum nurses are WAY more skilled at recognizing an infant in distress than my L&D nurses. Ditto the ability to assist with breastfeeding.
I have worked both L&D and postpartum. In L&D, every single patient you care for will help prepare you for midwifery. In postpartum, you would gain little to no insight into midwifery. You need to learn about how to manage labor, care for complications, accurately check cervixes (which can only be done through practice), L&D medications, fetal monitoring, pain control, etc.
As an L&D nurse, you will also learn to care for transitioning newborns and immediate postpartum recoveries, sometimes women who are a few days postpartum if on mag or with medical complications. An L&D nurse is 100% competent to walk into a postpartum unit and provide nursing care.
As a postpartum nurse, your skill set would be minimally transferrable to L&D. (This is not a knock on PP nurses. It's a sweet and fun area to work in.)
Another thing to consider is that most reputable nurse midwifery programs require 2 years of L&D experience before starting. Midwives need to be L&D experts. If this isn't a requirement of a school you're looking at, I'd be hesitant to apply to that program. You'll have such liability as a midwife that you want to be held to the highest standards.
My students who work night shift consistently struggle with assignments and deadlines more than my day shift students, so that's something to consider too. And a shorter commute will give you more time at home to do school work.
Normally, I'd tell a nurse take the extra $156 a day. That's huge! But not in this case... If you're really set on midwifery and can comfortably support yourself at the L&D job, I'd 100% go that route.
I have worked both L&D and postpartum. In L&D, every single patient you care for will help prepare you for midwifery. In postpartum, you would gain little to no insight into midwifery. You need to learn about how to manage labor, care for complications, accurately check cervixes (which can only be done through practice), L&D medications, fetal monitoring, pain control, etc.
As an L&D nurse, you will also learn to care for transitioning newborns and immediate postpartum recoveries, sometimes women who are a few days postpartum if on mag or with medical complications. An L&D nurse is 100% competent to walk into a postpartum unit and provide nursing care.
As a postpartum nurse, your skill set would be minimally transferrable to L&D. (This is not a knock on PP nurses. It's a sweet and fun area to work in.)
Another thing to consider is that most reputable nurse midwifery programs require 2 years of L&D experience before starting. Midwives need to be L&D experts. If this isn't a requirement of a school you're looking at, I'd be hesitant to apply to that program. You'll have such liability as a midwife that you want to be held to the highest standards.
My students who work night shift consistently struggle with assignments and deadlines more than my day shift students, so that's something to consider too. And a shorter commute will give you more time at home to do school work.
Normally, I'd tell a nurse take the extra $156 a day. That's huge! But not in this case... If you're really set on midwifery and can comfortably support yourself at the L&D job, I'd 100% go that route.
Good luck, and what a good dilemma to have!
Midwives care for women throughout the lifespan, and need to be just as well versed in postpartum care as they are in intrapartum care. Delivering babies is just one hat midwives wear. Also, it is untrue that "most reputable" nurse midwifery programs require two years of L&D experience---programs requiring no nursing experience at all are becoming more of the norm, and it's definitely rare to see a program require L&D specifically.
According to the U.S. News and World Report, the top ranked programs are as follows:
University of California--San Francisco - San Francisco General Hospital.
University of Michigan--Ann Arbor.
Vanderbilt University.
Oregon Health and Science University.
University of Minnesota--Twin Cities.
Yale University.
University of New Mexico.
University of Pennsylvania.
Of those, U of Minnesota requires a master's in midwifery because it's a DNP-only program, so that's a little different. U of NM doesn't list their requirements on their website. The other listed programs have no nursing experience requirement at all.
Regardless, back to the topic at hand---I do think the L&D job is the better offer in your case. I'm interested to hear how it works out!
Nunya, BSN
771 Posts
Have you ever worked L&D? Everyone gets all excited about the idea of delivering babies, but the reality is that it's a lot of hard work. If you've never done it I would say take the L&D job to make sure you really like it before going to school for two years to become a midwife.