TarheelRN

Hi all, When I started in nursing 3 years ago as a L&D nurse, I was initially lured by the perks that nurses have - such as not working 5 days a week. Working 3 twelve hour shifts was enticing...and yes, I do like it. But now I am pregnant (yeay!) and I am having difficulty trying to figure out what daycares are open before 7a and after 6p ...well, they don't exist!! My husband is a resident so I cannot rely on his hours or ability to cover me while at work, even on a night shift. So, to all of you with children, I am desperate for ideas for childcare. What did you do? Thanks so much!

Hi all, When I started in nursing 3 years ago, I was initially lured by the perks that nurses have - such as not working 5 days a week. Working 3 twelve hour shifts was enticing...and yes, I do like it. But now I am pregnant (yeay!) and I am having difficulty trying to figure out what daycares are open before 7a and after 6p ...well, they don't exist!! My husband is a resident so I cannot rely on his hours or ability to cover me while at work, even on a night shift. So, to all of you with children, I am desperate for ideas for childcare. What did you do? Thanks so much!

PS...they both were AROM'd and GBS pos, so I didn't want to check every 5 min....:)

Hi everyone, So 2 nights in a row I had multip women w/ epidurals that couldn't feel a thing...no pressure, pain, nothing. I checked them after the epi and foley...1 was 6cm, one was 5cm. Both gave no inkling of pain, discomfort, change, etc. The docs said (like usual), check in 2 hrs after epi if no pressure. Um, yeah....with one of them the baby crowned up to the ears while the husband frantically called out...this an hr after I checked her at 5cm..... and the next night, I went to check the pt. after 2 hrs (like the doc said) and the baby's head literally popped out at me right before I inserted gloved finger. So needless to say, I don't trust multips now...but has this ever happened to you all? I am in my pts room a lot, but the MDs are making me feel (or maybe I'm allowing them to let me feel) like I'm neglecting them and letting them be "fully" for too long....holy smokes, it was 1-2 hrs from 5- fully for both of them practically!! I'm starting to get the "no second stage nurse" reputation! haha. I've been there for 6 months, but this has never happened before! Two nights in a row! Tell me your stories....I need some re-assurance before I go back to work that I'm not the only one this has happened to.....or maybe I am!! :) Thanks!

Hi there, Congrats on joining the RN field...we need more nurses! I am a L&D RN and was a birth doula for 2 years before going to nursing school. I did peds cardiology before joining L&D...so like you, I did a telemetry sort of unit before considering L&D. Everyone is different, but what I can say is that L&D nursing is NOTHING like being a doula. This is something I still struggle with from time to time. As a doula, we are taught that birth is the most natural thing a woman can do, however, in L&D we view every birth as a potential emergency...always waiting for the next PP hemorrhage or stat c-section. I can vouch for the more "positive" atmosphere, although L&D nurses do have a reputation for being aggressive and mean in general (I think because we have to advocate on a minute to minute basis and we need things done "now" for the sake of our pt.) And L&D is like a ticking time bomb, everything happens fast and unexpectedly. You can never plan your day and make a "brain" like in other units and you must be a bit of an adrenaline junkie. That being said, sometimes you witness the "normal" birthing process and it makes your day. I work at a level 3 hospital, so we get more high-risk women and the concept of "normal" isn't really a norm. I'm glad I have the doula experience for those moms alone or without epidurals....you bring experience from anything you do I feel. You will bring cardiac experience, which is a plus. So if womens health is your passion, you'll love L&D. But I don't want you to think that it will be like our past doula world (which I gather you don't think anyway). Just my two cents:) Good luck.

Hi, thanks - we will be living in one of the 4 cities I listed: Livingston, Long Branch, Paterson or Newark. Those are our choices in order for his medical roations, so we hope to live near the respective hospital in that city. I don't necessarily need to work at the same hospital as him, just in the general vicinity...we both don't want to commute more than 20 minutes away though...I'm form LA originally and I know about traffic....it's not fun after a 12 hr shift! Thanks in advance for your advice!!

Hi, I am a Peds Cardiac nurse in Chapel Hill, NC and new to the board. The reason I write is because my husband is starting his clinical rotations for med school in NJ this summer, so we are moving your way soon. We have a list of hospitals to choose from, and we can pick our top three. Which hospital, as a nurse, would you recommend working for? Or any info about the surrounding areas would be great - I'm excited to move to NJ, but don't know anything about the area, so I thought I would ask you all. St. Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, Paterson Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch Beth Isreal Medical Center, Newark Thanks for your help everyone!