CrunchyLaborRN

I appreciate your words, Baglady! I have come to realize that if I quit everything in my life that I had a bad day at, I would have a pretty unfullfilling life.

we are instructed not to use gel but we have access to handy applicators that make it much easier. I stick the pill in the tip of the applicator, put a drop or two of a vinegar/h2o solution on it and insert.

I am sorry that you had a rough stretch. Both of those patients were lucky to have a quick thinking, compassionate nurse. I hope the rest of the week goes smoothly for you. hugs

Purpsurfer was a screenname I had forever. Just a mix of purple and surfer... I am a florida girlie girl, what can I say. Decided that I wanted to change my allnurses screenname to something more "nursey". :)

Well, been a few days and I go back on shift today. I appreciate the encouragement to get back on the horse but it really wasn't like that. I accept that crazy bad things happen and I might just be that pt's nurse. My situation was involving an incomplete induced AB of a second trimester pregnancy. That is as nice as I can put it. When you dream of being a labor nurse, you don't think about the possibility of THAT.

Wow, re-reading my own post and its such a bellyache. There was absolutely nothing I could do for the situation and I accept that. I want to give this job longer but I am 110% certain that I wouldn't go back if I saw what I saw last night any time in the near future. L&D gets stressfull, it gets sad, its always intense and usually the happy endings make up for the not so happy... I am good with all of that, but I still don't know if I will be able to hack it. Since I am per diem, maybe another per diem job in another area of nursing (bring on the dermatology) would make for a nice breather.

I never imagined how potentially disturbing labor and delivery could be. I am not so sure any more that I am cut out for this. I had such an aweful shift last night. It would be inappropriate to discuss details here but I came home and got sick and wish I could wash it out of my head. I *know* that I need experiences to become experienced but I just NEVER imagined that this would be so hard. I went to nursing school to be a labor and delivery nurse... there were never any other options for me. Now it seems that I come off of every shift thinking that I never want to go back.

I tread water and pray for 25-30 minutes until we get a doc. If the patient is seizing or something, the ER doc MIGHT come up, resp will come but no one will do much beside secure her airway.

I feel like I get totally stupid at 4am. I have to run the stairs for 10-15 minutes to get my blood flowing to my sleepy brain. Oh and a peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich on whole grain bread between 0300 and 0400 gets me through the roughest time of my shift and lasts me unti lI wake up that afternoon. I know you weren't asking for recipes but it works for me! LOL I never do two nights in a row so I never come home and sleep the whole day. I konk out about 0830 and sleep until somewhere between 12 and 1300, that way the whole day isn't wasted and I can go to sleep easily that night.

RastaNurse, The night shift is a great shift for a mom with a TypeA personality like me! The kids go to school during the day and I am there to pick them up and drop them off. My husband works 24/48 shifts at the fire dept so he is here the nights I work. Great for the kids but I don't even think I remember what my husband looks like!

Thanks for the replies. When I was reading the board this morning, the post about getting dream L&D job (except its on night shift) really struck a cord with me. I would love to go back to the support of day shift but that may not happen for a long time. I am torn between staying and finding something else even though I went to nursing school TO BE a labor nurse. I hate feeling so conflicted.

I am currently 9 months into my first job as an RN as a nurse on L&D. My orientation was for 5 months on days. As a new L&D nurse (and a new nurse period), I found more comfort on days shift knowing that the docs were close by and USUALLY one or more was in house. Anesthesia was always in, too. Now on nigts, our docs (OB and anesthesia) are 25-30 minutes out. I am getting gray hair and high blood pressure with the stress of delivering my patients, dealing with pp bleeding and pts that come through the door who need a DOCTOR. Am I over-reacting because I am new or is this a valid concern? By the way, the other night nurses aren't much help. Maybe just something for new L&D RNs to consider before taking a job on nights...

I took care of a celebrity from before my time (Brat-Pack). Gracious family. Even wrote a beautiful letter to the hospital about the care they received from me. Made my day... even if they hadn't been VIP.

As a labor and delivery nurse, how would you feel about being oriented to post partum (which also takes all pediatrics and gynies), nursery (level 1), and labor/ delivery and then being floated randomly to all three areas every time you work?

I have done a few deliveries with doulas present and I really don't conduct my nursing care much differently. Usually, if they have a doula, they have a birth plan. I go over that with mom and dad and set the presedence that I am willing to accomodate their plan as much as policy allows and work with them. I want them to trust me and my judgement. The doula is a great extra set of hands/eyes/ears and I love working with them, but I have to sign my name so therefore I call the shots.