Pre-cepting

Depends where you are from and the specifics of your area...However, in my area, our hospitals are hiring new grads EVERYWHERE from OB to OR to ER. They like you fresh and new and like to train and sculpt you to be what they need. You do not always have to work med surge. I am because IDK where I want to specialize yet, but if you are really feeling OB, go for it. Apply even if it says x amount of experience required. If you really want it and can show your enthusiasm for a specific area, you just might find a way in. good luck!

Nursing jobs for new grads seem to be hard to come by so don't hold out for an OB position. Take what you can get. Med/surg will give you the essential needs and skills to function as a nurse. Med/surg is very broad so there is a lot you can do with med/surg exp. If you go straight into a specialty, like OB, you will only have knowledge of how to function in an OB setting and you will not gain those basic med/surg nursing skills. If you absolutely know that OB is where you want to be then go for it but I would suggest starting with med/surg. Even if it's only for 6 months, you will learn a lot.

If new grad jobs are as scarce in your area as they are in mine, then I think you should go for it, for sure! If OB is what you want to do, the preceptorship may very well be your only chance to differentiate yourself from the 200+ other applicants.

Please get some med-surg experience. I'm a new RN (3months). My instructors always said to get med-surg because those skills can go with you anywhere. The worst thing in the world is to get a call from the "specialty" units with nurses asking questions like "How much is supposed to be in the jp drain? What color is the fluid supposed to be? Why is there only a little bit in it?" Hello, you're in a specialty unit. The prevailing thought would be that you had more knowledge and experience than the "general" med surg nurse....especially a new RN. Oh, and please no silly calls about NG tubes. Just last week a nurse from a specialty unit called because she had to do a give meds via NG tube. She had to be told to check for placement. Then she asked "How" to do that. Oh dear. These are are the nurses that make $10-$15 more per hour than the med surg nurses. Wow! So, the point of my rant is to get some med surg experience. There's nothing wrong with your ultimate goal of being an OB nurse, just get med surg first. I'm in med surg and I'm not sure where I'd like to be, but I'm learning a lot and improving/perfecting my skills. When the right time comes, I can be a ROCK star of a nurse when I go for my raise or ask for placement in another unit if I decide med surg isn't for me. I'm actually beginning to love it because of the variety though. Everyday is very different. Don't be too eager to ditch med-surg. Being there is a valuable learning experience. As a new grad RN I'm able to care for 6-7patients and I have used most of the skills taught to me in nursing school. I'm not bragging, but I'm stating a fact. I as well as a few other New RN's have the ability to care for multiple patients whereas some of our "specialty" nurses drown when caring for 2 or 3 patients that have less problems than our patients. Just saying. My fellow Grad RN went to the OB floor to help out. She ran circles around the OB nurses and she's only been a nurse for 4months. She couldn't believe how inexperienced they seemed. So, I say get your med surg, so you're not the OB nurse or other "specialty" unit nurse drowning in 3 patients or calling and asking crazy questions. It's a good thing they asked, since they didn't know, but really......They should have known.

I would say go for OB if that's what you want. For one thing, after spending more clinical time there you will have a better idea of whetehr or not it is really what you want to do. Also, as someone else mentioned, with new grad jobs being so scarce in most areas, having your preceptorship in OB may be the thing that makes you stand out and get the job over someone else. I totally disagree with the idea that you need to start out in med/surg. Given the job market I wouldn't turn down a med/surg job if offered one adn you don't have an offer for an OB job yet, however not applying for an OB job because of this idea that all new nurses should start in med/surg is crazy IMHO. There's a lot fo nurses in my family (and even more on my wife's side of the family) and several have never worked med/surg (including me) and have all done just fine. If you do end up in med/surg though, the statement that the skills you pick up there apply anywhere is true, so view it as a step in the process of reaching your goal, and not an obstacle. Good luck!

Thanks for the responses guys! I guess I'll just put them both down as my choices and see what I get. It's ultimately up to my teachers so wherever they put me I'll be happy for the experience :)

If your passion is in OB, then I would absolutely request it for your preceptorship. Like others said, you may find that it's not available to you as a new grad, but then again maybe it will. You never can tell. I've worked for two different hospitals in their OB departments and both hospitals hired new grads.

If they like you and you wow them, then you may just get a job offer.

I would shoot for OB if that's where your heart is. I disagree that you have to have med surge before a specialty experience. I do agree, that med surge gives you repitition in the basic skills; but, in my experience, on a specialty unit, they know you are a new grad and are more willing to help you develop some of those skills. You will also get a lot of that in your preceptor experience. We hire a lot of new grads on my OB unit. Sometimes that's nice too!!

And depending on the type of hospital at which you work, you will still get some m/s background, even in OB. If your unit also handles gyn, you'll get a lot of post-surgical care experience. If you work in high-risk, you'll get all kinds of stuff - insulin drips, women who have heart conditions, lung conditions, some onc.

Definitely m/s gives you a good foundation, but not having a m/s background, I have not found it to limit me.

Klone, I never thought of it that way! Thanks!

I would try to go straight to OB if it's an option and you know that's where you want to be. The job market is pretty bad for new grads in every specialty so take what you can get, of course, but I wouldn't force yourself to do med-surge if you don't need to or want to.

I never worked a day of med-surg and don't feel that limited me in any way. No, I wouldn't be able to place or use an NG tube without looking up policies and asking questions to guide me first. But that doesn't really matter, because I've never had a patient with an NG tube! A lot of the time, med-surg does exactly nothing to prepare you for what it's like to care for two patients in one body, one of whom you can't see or evaluate except for ONE vital sign (heart rate). While I highly respect and value med-surg nurses and all of their knowledge, a lot of what you do in med-surg has very little relevance in OB (and vice versa).

Good luck, I hope you're able to get your foot in the door in OB through a preceptorship. It's an amazing place to work!