mtnviews

Original post was a while ago but I graduated from the program several years ago. I had a great experience. I applied to 3 new grad positions/residencies and was offered all 3. Most of my good friends had their 1st choice jobs in whatever specialty they wanted to start in. 1 friend did struggle, and went to the uni's career services for free resume and interview feedback, and had an offer pretty quickly after that. I did their internship while I was a student and thought that experience was really valuable. I don't know that any new grad feels perfectly prepared, but I think they did the best they could. Good luck wherever you all end up! We are fortunate to have some great options in the area, and it's definitely an interesting time to be a nursing student. Hopefully a little more normal in the coming year.

I took it shortly after I had 2 years of experience. I took a prep class that is local to the state I live in. I took the test the morning after the last day of class, just so it all was fresh. I had an AWHONN Perinatal Nursing book I had been casually skimming through, but honestly the class helped way more. And though the Perinatal book is great, it is not as strong in dealing with more high-risk pregnancy issues that are also on the test. (Maybe because AWHONN also has a high risk and critical care ob book - I have the book but haven't had a chance to read it yet.) The teacher knew the test so well, so emphasized important things. More than that, she really had a lot to say about best practice - I actually thought it was beneficial that I took it early in my career because it really emphasized the "right" way to do things.

It might have just been a hard time of year to apply. Most new grads start in August, so if hospitals only hire new grads during their specific start times (which many of the ones I'm familiar with do), then the next window really isn't until after the December graduates (start date usually around March). But you should start seeing more things opening up specifically for new grads if they haven't already. I was a December graduate and I feel like by this time in December I had just finished applying to the 3 new grad positions I applied for.

I work at two hospitals and both give annual bonuses. My full time place does an annual bonus, though it's soon after the financial year is over (which ends June 30th), I forget it's something like $300 for a full timer 40 hours a week before taxes. The other does an annual bonus in the holiday season which is $3000 for full timers, and is also based on hours worked. Mine was $600 for being pretty casual PRN (and a grocery store gift card for my holiday meal).

Oh my other comment has to be approved by a moderator but I think I put the wrong link for that second mug. It's Blue Ridge Engraving on Etsy that does some cute personalized engraved yeti mugs which make great gifts. I found them after a coworker had a yeti mug that had her name on one side and "OB nurse at your cervix" I think it was, on the other. Not sure if the two companies are related, but I think the one I posted doesn't have the engraved mugs.

An engraved cup/mug from etsy is always nice. My friend gave me this one for a gift: At your Cervix Mug Personalized OBGYN Gift Stainless Steel | Etsy Also this seller is amazing and does really nice engraved yetis and can do all sorts of personalization (because they are engraved they are dishwasher safe too) Personalized Gifts and Home Decor by BlueRidgeMountainCo on Etsy

Unless that's the only OB place around where you need to work or something, I'm not sure why that would exclude working in OB. The stuff you describe is environmental and could go on in any unit.

If you like that sort of environment or looking to get into MFM, L&D is a great way to go. I work in L&D and love it. I would like to add though that you mentioned in another post that you feel a strong pull towards working with babies, and L&D is not always a great way to have contact time caring for babies. I can go weeks between taking care a baby if I get a string of early labors, triage patients, high risk antepartum patients (the latter two after more experience), etc. When we do care for babies, we are usually trying to cluster a majority of our care into a narrow window because recoveries are short and we want to maximize bonding/skin to skin and breastfeeding time if the parents are interested. And sometimes the babies we take care of are already dead or have poor outcomes (fetal anomalies, no heart tones from initial assessment sometimes even at term, non viable gestation coming in already delivered or about to deliver, etc). I only say that because sometimes I hear students on our unit saying they want to get into L&D because they love babies, and I feel like I spend way way more time with pregnant women and their variety of visitors than I do babies on an average day. Also I feel like people new to L&D don't always come in mentally prepared or even willing to care for demises which, at least at both places I work, is definitely part of the job. (Side note/clarification: it's totally understandable to be scared, apprehensive, whatever when it's unfamiliar or maybe temporarily not in a good mindspace for that level of care, which is totally different from someone refusing to ever take those patients because it's "too sad," they feel only people without kids at home should have to care for them, etc.) Though personally staff members I've worked with are always super good about providing tons of help and support to get through that care, especially when it's new and unfamiliar.

I became a doula while I was in nursing school (via DONA International) and then volunteered through a non-profit to offer labor support to women regardless of means. I was attracted to the idea after I worked with a doula my first day in L&D clinical, and then my friend had an L&D nurse who became a doula after she became a nurse to break into L&D. The class also included a pretty basic but decent class on supporting initial breastfeeding. I had classmates interested in OB who took lactation consultant classes, which I think would be great to do someday. It's also great in that it can benefit working in postpartum as well. Spinning Babies is a great class. I took it about 6 months after I became an L&D nurse and it offered many tips and tricks on positioning to facilitate labor progress. Though preceptors tend to know some of those tips too on orientation. So I love the website Evidence Based Birth and they offer a labor support for L&D nurses class which I'd love to check out someday (but you don't have to be an L&D nurse to go). They said even if they don't have one planned, you could contact a local EBB instructor to see if anything like that is or could be in the works. AWHONN membership offers payment plans, and chapters often offer educational sessions and programs to enrich members.

We are 1:1 most of the time for most patients, provided staffing allows. Stable antepartums maybe 1:2. Sometimes if it's busier, early labors get paired up. Once in a rare while 1:3 stable antes. When stuff has to get paired up, charges are pretty thoughtful about not just labor status but emotionally needy and high anxiety patients to make sure their assigned nurses are able to give them the care they need. As a new grad, I was trained to do 1:2 labor patients because my preceptor wanted me to be prepared to work at other places. I can count on one hand how many times I've had 2 labor patients at my main job in almost 3 years. There was even one time the charge kept offering to reassign one because she felt bad I had 2 early labors with nurses open, but I kept telling her I was fine. Someone else tends to do baby at least through the first few sets of vitals, first breastfeeding and meds, if staffing allows. There's an assigned baby nurse, but if that person is busy, early labor nurses or people with 1 stable ante will catch babies too. So we're usually 1:1 for recoveries too. My PRN job tends to not staff as uh, generously, but still super appropriate and manageable. More 1:2 early labor. 1:2 or 1:3 stable antes. And usually just a baby nurse for initial vitals and whatever can get done before they leave the room and then you care for the couplet.

I work at 2 hospitals and neither has call requirements. The one I've been at longer, until about a year or year and a half ago, we had 4 hour shifts that were mandatory, anywhere from 1-3, rarely 3, mostly 2 4-hour shifts per 6 weeks. The amount of pay depending on how picked over it was when you signed up. It started with straight pay and went to time and a half when they were all picked over.

I work for two L&D units, both level III LDR who also house antepartum, care for many high-risk patients, but aren't as busy as yours - both probably average around 3500-4000 deliveries a year. Both are pretty excellent at staffing appropriately (one probably a little too generously, but they get backlash every time they try to tighten up a bit). One unit is 1:2 cervical ripening, but otherwise 1:1 labor (pit, etc), antepartum ratio depends on stability but often 1-3 (usually 1 or 2). The other unit often staffs 1:1 even for cervical ripening unless staffing is strapped. They likewise do 1-3 for antes, usually 1-2. In two and a half years, I can easily count on one hand how many times I've had more than one "labor" patient including early labor/cervical ripening, and one time the charge kept asking if I needed a patient unloaded once she had a nurse free up. Uh no, they're both pain free with gorgeous strips, it's really fine. Both places have charges who do not take assignments, and at least one open/resource nurse. Those resources you feel spoiled by are out there at other places too that follow AWHONN guidelines. I don't blame you for being overwhelmed! I'm not sure if it's just your facility, or if places that do that sort of volume just have a hard time keeping up with the turnover. One of my facility's sister hospitals is similar to your volume, and I've spoken to nurses on labor and postpartum who transferred from there, who had much more strained and potentially unsafe assignments.

I started as a new grad in L&D. I did start where I completed my OB clinicals, and I heard later a couple of staff members did remember me and had good things to say. I was a volunteer doula in nursing school so I think that helped my application stand out. I really thought I had no shot at L&D - the doula was more for my own interest and maybe getting into L&D down the road. I did my leadership clinical in ICU stepdown, and a paid internship in med-surg and then stayed on as a tech, because I was more interested in finding a plan B route that I would be happy with than fighting over a bajillion other people for Women's Health spots then not get a job in it.

I got my response on Thurs morning (2/8) for Women's Health DNP via email. The email surprised me a bit, since I was told in the interview that notification would be by letter.

Congrats! :)