rdhdnrs

Whenever someone mistakes me for the doc I laugh and say "Oh, my, don't demote me!" and just make a joke of it. Nursing and medicine are two distinct philosophies and disciplines. You know that, and you know that you are not a "junior doctor". People are just ignorant. Don't worry about it.

I usually only call in when I a) have a fever, b) am throwing up or having diahrrhea, c) when one of my kids is sick. However, there has been the rare occasion when I just couldn't face a day at work. I believe in the concept of mental health days. I just am astounded that we don't demand them, giving the things we do every day.

One of the best moments I ever experienced as an L&D nurse was when a dad, the OB doc, and I all burst into tears at the birth of the first of twins. The babies were from an in vitro pregnancy and were the culmination of many years of trying to have a family. I was so privileged. On the other hand, it has been my great honor to privately baptize babies who have died soon after birth in my arms, and my privilege to present them to their families, all clean and pure and totally unspotted by the world. I feel blessed to do the work I do.

One of the best moments I ever experienced as an L&D nurse was when a dad, the OB doc, and I all burst into tears at the birth of the first of twins. The babies were from an in vitro pregnancy and were the culmination of many years of trying to have a family. I was so privileged. On the other hand, it has been my great honor to privately baptize babies who have died soon after birth in my arms, and my privilege to present them to their families, all clean and pure and totally unspotted by the world. I feel blessed to do the work I do.

Great job! I think this is very appropriate.

The only people who will really understand what you do all day will be other nurses. Not your family, not your friends. Some days on your way home after work you will wonder "Did I really do that today?". When you need to debrief, call your preceptor.

I am so sorry this happened to you. I think you did the right thing by offering to be tested. This will go a long way in your defence. Hang in there.

I don't know how to get over crying; I usually go in the med room with my bestest friend and put cold wet paper towels over my eyes till I'm ready to face the floor again. God, I love this job!!!

I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles. Please know that you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. Lisa

I'm in OB at a teaching hospital so am generally regarded as a good resource for residents since I've been here seven years. Occasionally have the med student or resident who doesn't understand their rank in the scheme of things. I am usually able to defuse whatever comes along, but when I can't, I defer to a staff doc who I've made very good friends with. I think the key is to cultivate colleagues who have power of one sort or another, who can back you up when that is needed. We need to demand more interaction with the docs and more education for them as to what we do. I think it would also be a good idea to educate nurses about what docs do. The more we know about each other the better we will get along, and the better patient care we will deliver...and that is the main thing, after all.

I had a patient the other day who had an inverted uterus after a routine SVD. We got her to the OR; she lost her total body volume of blood, about 5000cc. Her BP was 49/19 at one point. At that moment, she looked at me and said, "There are angels all around. I can't see them but I know they're here." When she came back a little, she said "I went to heaven." I said, "Are you back, because you need to stay here and raise your kids." and she said "yeah, I'm back. But it didn't hurt when I was there and it hurts here." She got much, much blood and blood products, but is going home tomorrow. Thank God. It was a goosebumpy experience for me and all the OR team. She did lose her uterus, but she's okay now. Our anesthesiologists were great in this crisis, and I was so glad to be a nurse that day, and part of the team. Some days you feel you really do make a difference!

There is nothing I can add to Deb's answer; it was great. I had 12 weeks of orientation; I felt it was about right. OB is a great field of nursing. I have felt called to it since I started nursing school. I work in a high-risk tertiary care unit so see a lot of med-surg, endocrine, cardiac, diabetes, etc, etc. I learn something every day, even after 7 years. I absolutely love it! Please let us know how things go. I go along with Deb; if you have any questions, any concerns, any need for support, let us know. That's what we're here for. And we're trying to stop "eating our young".!!! Love ya, Lisa

One thing I have learned is to always consider developmental stages....remember in psych when we learned that teenagers are most concerned about themselves; their own feelings, and their own bodies. This is why your patient responded to you when you told her how good she looked. She's 18; she's an adolescent. There's no telling what has gone on for her at home in the last nine months. Our policy where I work is to get a social work consult on every teen mom. You seem very insightful; give all you can to your patients, and you will change their lives more than you will ever know. Lisa

Thanks for all the information. Lisa

I personally love Cytotec. We use it in very low doses for inductions w/o favorable cervix. Higher doses for demises. It's a great pph drug. Doesn't usually cause diarrhea like carboprost. We haven't had any problems with it, used properly. In our facility, only docs place it.