Practicum decision .... Help???

[NurseB_]

Ok, I hate when I have big decisions to make and I have so many options so I need my fellow nurses help. In my program we can only do Med-Surg, ICU and ER. The problem is I don't want to work in any of these departments for the long term once I graduate. I know I need to get a good Med-Surg background, but I want to ultimately work in Labor and Delivery. My goal is to become a Nurse Midwife so basically my heart is set on L&D. I know I might have to get a position in Med-Surg to get some experience and that's fine to me. I just don't know what department would give me the best experience for being a L&D nurse given my choices. We are big on the nursing skills but in my practicum experience I want to get more experience in being a "nurse" like making calls and determining the next action once I see lab results, etc. I just need some advice ANY ADVICE!! Please let me know what you think!! Thanks!

[j621d]

My bias is towards ICU, HOWEVER.....med/surg is good for building your foundation. I think you will utilize much of that knowledge base in L&D, and should you go into more advanced areas of maternity, it will serve you well. You will also learn time management and prioritization skills. You could then bump things up after obtaining a med/surg background by going into critical care. This too will serve you well in your advanced practice.

Some will state you don't have many patients that "go bad" in L&D, there is still the potential for things to go wrong, and if you have a strong background in med/surg it will prepare you to deal with it. If you are wanting to be a midwife, I would suggest having a strong med/surg and critical care background.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Yea that is weird...my BSN had us do med/surg, then maternity, pediatrics, psych, community, and then advanced med/surg where I got a preceptorship. I would say medical then. Are you in an associates program?? JW

Based on the thread title, I believe OP is referring to choices of clinical areas in which to complete the final/senior/capstone practicum of some number of hours of clinical experience ... not that her program does not include a course/clinical rotation in maternal-child health.