BugRN

dear Mattsmom, I have seen it both ways, depending on the size of the unit. Larger hospitals will have seperate L/D staff. Post Part will too as well as nursery. I have worked both. I kind of liked doing all areas, a nice change, but I always loved Labor best.

Oh my God, 23 out of 25. Hey what's the point of getting older if you don't get the chance to reminice. Does anyone remember making rings out of glass soda bottles. You'd scrape the lips of 2 bottles together until they fell off, took hours!! then you'd smooth them down and put them on string and wear as a necklace! Making go carts out of wooden milk crates and roller scates?? Playing hide and go seek, hop scotch?? God I am Old!!

Dear Mattsmom, When I did L/D we were cross trained, in fact I was most often on L/D because I had a lot of exp there. Big city hosp. sometimes have their own staff for each unit and don't cross train, I've also done that. In the end it's a good thing to have a core of really good, exp. L/D nurses as well as those that can cross train. "Cause when the s***t hits the fan, it's usually an L/D nurse you need.

Thanks for the info on Chemp pt.s on PP, But a note on the Heparin drip pt.'s, they were not post partum moms...I could see if they were and would not want to seperate mom and babe, but these were overflow med/surg pt.'s. I didn't feel safe with them. I know this is an old debate, but I worked OB so I didn't have to do Med/surg... I know, I know Not including our post op's and Hyst's. I mean geriatric pt.'s on PP. Give me healthy post part's anyday. Including the Mag's and C/S, Please this is not meant to be a debate on a nurse is a nurse is a nurse.......

Anyone ever hear of heparin drips on Post partum??? That 's the point when I quit. 1 RN w/ and aide or LPN w/ 10-14 post partums, post-ops, antepart's, surgical hyst.'s etc...Oh but we did get a 20 min inservice! That was also the same time they started sending us Chemo pt.s too, Infection control said it was OK, amazing isn't it!!

Speaking mainly from experience as an OB charge nurse. I wouldn't take an assignment, but do all the NST's, labor checks, break all for dinner, pee breaks, etc...I also saw to it that the less experienced nurses got the exciting or more challenging cases if they were up to it, to give them the experience with me as back-up. Some of the other charge nurses would sometimes take the exciting cases for themselves and deprive the newer nurses the learning exp. as well as be out of commition for the rest of the floor! You can't know what's going on if your stuck with a labor patient and don't show your face for the rest of the night. A good charge nurse sees the floor as a whole and takes in the big picture. She/He should be doing as much work as the rest but still make him/herself available to help everyone else.

Thisnurse.....OH my GOD! How do you do it day in and day out??? I give you tons of gredit!! I only hope there is a backrub and a good person at home to pamper you each day 'cause it sounds like you could use it. Please remember if this is all worth it in the long run, don't kill yourself over it. There are other nurses jobs out there!! Take care of YOU first!

Not sure if it's a trend, but think about it, you're entering a world all it's own. You will work when others aren't, you will sleep when other's are up and about. You will eat at different times. Not to mention the holidays and weekends you will miss. These all take a toll on a marriage. (I am now seperated too, hubby hated my hours and long commute time). Need an understanding mate and family to survive nursing. Good Luck!!

I too have left bedside nursing, 3 yrs. ago. My exp. was L&D. I miss the moms and the babes!! But I don't miss the nights, weekends, and Holidays one bit. I took quite a cut in pay, but it was worth it. Now I'm managing a Family Planning clinic and I like it, but I miss the adrenalin rush of a busy L&D shift, am I crazy?? There were nights I cried going in to work and going home, how can I miss it so much? Anyone else??

I knew I had to make a change when my husband said I had changed so much that if he met me now, the way I had become, he wouldn't have asked me out! That the stress of the job had changed me so much and I had turned into such a negative, *****y women that he wouldn't have been interested in me. That was all I needed to hear to realize it had gotten out of hand. Sometimes you need to hear what your family is saying and look at what you've become. No job is worth that. I resigned shortly after that, took a lower paying job with much less stress and am much happier, so is my hubby. Ask yourself what it is about your job now that you love so much and see if you can find another job that has that to offer as well, but will be better for your family?? Good luck!!

This story will make you realize we all made our mistakes w/ exams...I worked L/D and had a doc that scared the s--t out of me. He would admit his pt. and tell you not to call him until the baby was crowning. He would go off to the bar (I'm serious) and come strolling in just in time to catch. I was new to L/D and had his pt. who felt like she had to push. I checked her and felt all head at plus 2 station 100% effaced, fully dilated. I panicked, called him, and when he got there he wasn't happy. He went in the room, checked her, came out and pointed at me, and said if I ever call him again for a pt. who was a fingertip dilated again, he would kill me. I almost died, thank God he liked me. it seems she was 100% effaced and plus 2, but the cervical opening was so posterier that all I did feel was head. I had to reach WAY back to get into the OS and it was a tight fingertip. The cervix was paper thin all around the head. Thankfully she was a multip and she did go fast, but those exams can fool you, it was a good lesson and I never made that mistake again. Good Luck, after awhile you'll be able to do vag. exams in your sleep! ( and some nights it felt like I was!!)

When I graduated in 1983 there was a shortage of positions and too many nurses. L/D wouldn't talk to you w/out experience and all that was hiring was Med/Surg. My instructors insisted that everyone get a year under their belt then go on to whatever specialties interested you. I rebeled stating I would never work Med/Surg anyway and went the route of GYN clinic nursing. and was the first in my class to even get a job. ( $4 less /hr. than the going hospital rate). Eventually I was hired into High Risk OB and the hardest part for me was basic nursing skills. I had never dealt with IV's, Foley Cath's, Lung sounds, Dressings, pumps, etc.....This was the easy part for the other newbies. Me, I had several strong GYN years under my belt but had never put in a catheter!( at that point nursing school was far far away). I kinda learned things backwards and do regret not listening to my instructor. But the prior suggestion of doing a 3 month Med/Surg training may be enough for you esp. right out of school. OB is a different animal all unto itself. It combines all aspects of nursing other that telling moms to "push". You better know your stuff, you'll come to rely on your instincts and your gut more than anything. Good Luck!! Oh by the way I have never done Med Surg almost 20 yrs. later.

Oh my God, it's just like de ja vu!! I thought my last L&D job was the only unsafe place to practice! Isn't it amazing we pull off nights like described above and survive!!That our patient's do ok??? Unfortunately it's because everything turns out ok that these horrible situations still occur. A suggestion is to have only nurses who live within 20 min. of hospital be allowed on call. It's ridiculous to get help from someone that far away. Esp. in L&D when you need help imed. I finally had it when they brought in the Hep. drips to post partum and took out the rn from the nursery and made the PP RN do both areas at once w/ only an aide or LPN if lucky. We were also a comm. hosp w/ 600 del. yr. also expected to do our own c/s as well. Why do we let our managers get away with it?? and why are there always the martyr nurses that put up with anything for fear of complaining?? No good complaining anymore, I'm gone from a job I loved because I was too scared of going to work anymore. It should never get to that point.