ThatTallNurse

I work in west Texas. We are not baby friendly and as a hospital full of "old school" nurses, I never hear good things about baby friendly. But I am a new nurse being taught by a bunch of ladies who have worked in maternity since before EFM was common practice!!! L&D is strictly L&D, we are strictly post, nursery is nursery, etc. Some nurses do float. Despite being an LVN I can float to NICU and nursery on top of my "home" in post.

I wonder if this is a regional thing. Where I live, the “well baby” nursery is alive and well, and babies can and do room in with mom but it is common to send baby to nursery overnight and rooming in or not, baby has their own nurse. ?

Usually if a job posting says “postpartum” then you are exclusively caring for moms postpartum and there are nursery nurses taking care of baby. “Mother/baby” implies you will be mom and baby’s nurse.

Mother Baby is certainly not where nurses “go to die”. Postpartum nursing requires a lot of critical thinking and as you mentioned educational skills. You will need to think fast on your feet in emergency situations. I’ve been in postpartum a little over 3 months and I’ve seen multiple hemorrhages and a dehisced c-section as well as a case of postpartum pre-eclampsia that nearly ended in a transfer to ICU. I am lucky because my postpartum unit also doubles as the antepartum unit so I get lots of cool experience with PROMs, high-risk multiples, etc. Our nursery is separate from NICU and postpartum but it’s similar to a Level 2 NICU so it depends on how high the acuity of your mom baby unit is I guess, but our nursery nurses start umbilical lines and peripheral IVs and catch babies at deliveries etc. they certainly are sharpening a number of nursing skills there. Not to mention newborn assessment is quite the skill in itself!!! I’ve started to orient to the NICU (I’m an LVN but they have us practicing at the top of our licenses due to the nursing shortage) and newborn assessment is a challenge (but a fun one)! if you’re really passionate about postpartum it’s a very rewarding specialty. I wouldn’t do anything else, except maybe L&D when I finish my RN. I promise you it’s not just passing Motrin and Colace out like people seem to think. ?

I believe this would make her a G4 P4 T2 P2 A0 L4, because she is in her fourth gestation, with 4 children (a "parity" of 4), 2 delivered at term and 2 delivered preterm (the twins each count as a delivery. If it helps you to remember, think like this... one twin can be delivered early and we can "keep mom pregnant" to deliver one twin at term or at least later in some situations). No abortions, and 4 living children.

I posted this in the OB forum but I'm moving it here in hopes for more responses! ? Hi guys! I posted previously about whether I should shoot for a job in Med/Surg or an OB clinic with my end goal being L&D after I finish my RN (I will graduate LPN school in 19 days! Woo!). Happy to report I pursued and was offered a Med/Surg job which I accepted! I am supposed to start late July/early August. HOWEVER... A hospital south of me has posted multiple openings for LPNs on their Mom/Baby unit. I have applied for the two full time positions. The hospital is about 4.5 hours from where I live currently, so I would be moving to take this job. I am nervous they will not take my applications seriously because I am applying from so far away. I wrote specific cover letters for each position and included in them that I am excited about the possibility of relocation. Is there anything else I should do in that regard? I do not want to be that annoying person who calls every day, but in my professional experience outside of nursing persistence was key. Is there anything else I can do to secure an interview? I really want to work in Mom/Baby. I LOVED the patient education aspect of this specialty in my clinical and simulation experiences, and I love that L&D and Mom/Baby are both what I feel are "nurse-driven" specialties and I really want to get my foot in the door.

Hi guys! I posted previously about whether I should shoot for a job in Med/Surg or an OB clinic with my end goal being L&D after I finish my RN (I will graduate LPN school in 19 days! Woo!). Happy to report I pursued and was offered a Med/Surg job which I accepted! I am supposed to start late July/early August. HOWEVER... A hospital south of me has posted multiple openings for LPNs on their Mom/Baby unit. I have applied for the two full time positions. The hospital is about 4.5 hours from where I live currently, so I would be moving to take this job. I am nervous they will not take my applications seriously because I am applying from so far away. I wrote specific cover letters for each position and included in them that I am excited about the possibility of relocation. Is there anything else I should do in that regard? I do not want to be that annoying person who calls every day, but in my professional experience outside of nursing persistence was key. Is there anything else I can do to secure an interview? I really want to work in Mom/Baby. I LOVED the patient education aspect of this specialty in my clinical and simulation experiences, and I love that L&D and Mom/Baby are both what I feel are "nurse-driven" specialties (i.e. not just following orders/task oriented) and I really want to get my foot in the door.

Thanks for your advice, klone and MyCall2Nsg! I secured a position on a cardiopulmonary Med/Surg floor and I start in July! Very excited!

Hi all! First post. I am completing my Practical Nursing program in June. I have started applying to jobs now as our local hospital systems have HR processes that can take up to a month before you get an interview. OB is the last thing I ever thought I would do and I was COMPLETELY opposed to the idea until about a month ago. I haven't even told any of my classmates or instructors that I am thinking about it so I haven't had any brains to pick! I would really like to go into L&D once I finish my BSN (I will be participating in a bridge program and I will graduate with my BSN in spring of '21). As I apply for jobs under my LPN license I am wondering if it would be better to try and get a job as a floor nurse in MedSurg (the only unit they will hire LPNs for here in acute care), or if an OB clinic position would give me experience that L&D managers are going to consider useful. Any insight is appreciated!!! :)