Angel Baby

Ever heard the saying: People prefer a known hell to an unknown paradise? Most humans are so afraid of change that they're willing to put up with reprehensible conditions (I think this is even truer for nurses--we always think we can fix things). Wr...

We've added an addendum to this policy--staff WILL be assessed fines for excessive flatulence...............

Education (in-hospital or out--in fact, one of the best nurses I know was burned out giving patient care, tried management--hated that and is now the L&D unit educator)' she loves it--gets to play in her field of choice--she's just taking care of...

Latex free gloves!!! Wouldn't it be nice if that's all it took to fix all the issues at hand..................... (no pun intended)

Birth plans, whether formally written out or verbally expressed at admission, have their place. I think we run into trouble when there is a lack of understanding as to the risks these Mom's assume--if I know they fully understand all the risks and b...

Ditto for Shay and Tricia. I hope you will have a preceptor to guide you through the first 3-4 months--this field is as specialized as ER or Critical Care except Mom's are wierd. They don't do things like any other adult patients, their physiology...

Not to the latex, but the powedered gloves cause my hands to develop dry, red, painful bumps. A knowledgeable doc told me that the powder is more the offender than the latex--the way to distinguishe between the two? If you can wear underwear with el...

Serves him right----LMAO!!!!!!!!!

I am so very sorry that your heart is hurting--I wish I could say I didn't believe what you are saying, but I've seen physicians blatantly lie and cause the nurse to take the liability (and fall) in situations. There's no reasonable explanation of wh...

Certainly--in all areas of nursing that I've worked. Babies are the worst--20 weekers born alive, visibly moving and struggling and you know there's not a d%&* thing anyone can do but wait it out. Or the 43 year old who had misarried multiple p...

Lochia--even worse than the Placenta (at least that is life sustaining, while it's around).....................

Okay--one more. We have a female obstetrician who is a tall, beautiful black woman (don't dare call her African-American, because she's not African and she's not American). She has 2 children--both delivered by C/S. She has the need to warn every s...

We had a doc whose initials are BM (very fitting) who routinely has tangents. One of his biggest issues is that we never pit fast and hard enough to his liking, oh, and we should always make sure the patient gets an epidural. One day, as he went thr...

There is plenty to learn with all the "low risk" patients your unit gets. The trade off in bigger facilities (usually teaching facilities) is that you actually get less hands on--when you have residents guess who does all the vag exams? I've taken ...

Vasodilation and relaxation cause a natural decrase in the maternal blood pressure--the first thing that happens to preserve the maternal vital organs is that blood is shunted away from the uterus/placenta. The whole purpose of the pre-epidural bolu...

This is by far the most difficult thing we deal with in OB nursing--I know that my hospital has initiated a bereavement committee. While we are in the planning stages (defining the scope of support, etc) the mission is to help staff deal with ALL st...

Keep in mind--none of these ladies grew up with goal of becoming drug addicts--no school essay was written, no yearbook picture with the phrase "Most Likely To..." I took care of a nurse, once, who told me about her first delivery. She had been addi...

Pucker your lips up and feel the ridges--this may get you more comfortable with what a closed cervix feels like--it may seem like mush, but if you really move slowly over your lips you will notice that there are borders you can identify. Once dilatio...

OK, funny doc story. We had a physician who told me he would have rather run a tire store (family pushed him to be a physician). Anyway, he was kinda scary, but could be gently guided the right direction. He got very nervous--very easily. When a...

Is there an internship for L&D at your hospital? If not, is there an internship program in the community (most will take in outside nurses/new grads for a fee). If the hospital needs L&D staff they may be willing to assist in training you. ...

Because labor requires assessment, reassessment, titration of IV medications, IV push medications and monitoring during procedures we utilize only RN staffing in L&D. Although many hospitals utilize LPN's in this role, almost everything done has...

I agree with Jemma--it's a very useful tool to validate fetal well-being. If you get a deceleration with acoustic stim then you have identified a true problem and early, appropriate treatment will not be delayed.

My heart aches for you--you have had many obstacles and your concerns about wondering why you ever thought you could do this is a direct reflection on the hospital. You have not had an adequate orientation--you haven't had consistency in your trainin...

Once I get my patient settled in I like to talk about the fact that she is in control of her pain management--I won't push drugs on her and I won't withhold them, either. I discuss imagery as a relaxation technique during contractions and remind her...

L&D--I love it because it's unpredictable, high acuity and fun (when it's good). I hate poor physician to nure collaboration and the fact that administration doesn't understand what we do. Postpartum--It's fun to watch the evolving bonding betwe...