joeb1

You will have no problems as long as you are passionate and sincere. I started out as an Inpatient Peds RN, and loved it. Then I worked Labor and Delivery, and Nursery. I eneded up working a dedicated Pediatric ER in an adult trauma center. As a male, you just have to respect what others feel is comfortable. I can count on one hand in the 3 years in OB that I have had a patient decline to let me care for them.(of course we tried to make sure the shift before, who made out the assignments, talked to the patient first so I wouldn't just appear in the room while the patient was in stirrups, etc.) I never have regretted my specialty and am glad I never worried too much about working in what people may percieve as a predominately women's specialty. Go for it!

My wife watches General Hospital...if you want a good laugh, watch some of that.(although I don't recommend it because I hate that show).

I would guess that as they were not even registered and assuming they were not suicidal and you knew about it, I would say it is there right to make the decision to seek treatment elsewhere. If they decided thus, I think the only people who could be considered negligent is the family for not wanting to wait.

I carry my stethescope, hemostats with tape, reference cheat sheet I made with doses etc. and a 16 and 20 gauge angiocath just in case....used to have shears but after losing 4 pair in six months I've decided it isn't worth it...we have otoscope/opthalmoscopes at the head of each bedso no pen lights thankfully.

Ok, the crocs i used to wear were great, but the style has been replaced by the Specialist model, and they just don't look the greatest to me. They would wear smooth on the bottoms after a year or so, not bad for 30-40 dollar shoes. They were pretty comfortable, at least to my feet. Also have dansko professionals, and they just feel huge, and at over 110 dollars, they already show some wear after 6 months of use. My opinion for the best, if they are still around, is Keen shoes, bandon model. Very comfortable, easy to clean. And you can't go wrong with a pair of super Birki's.

We actually had Neonatologists walk off with the Littmans we kept at cribside in the nursery I worked at....They all had their own and always returned them. The one doc returned 6 of them one time. I do know that they like to walk, so do watch a good stethescope like a hawk....Really good advice.

I work in a Pediatric ER where I start 5-10 babies/toddlers every shift, and our docs always want blood drawn with starts. The way we found to not hemolyze or affect our samples, and keep in mind we usually only draw cbc/bmp/crp/cultures, is to start an IV, no matter what size, put pressure on the vein, and place the tube directly under the catheter hub, allowing the sample to drip carefully into the tube. Then we get the culture by using a sterile syringe for that small amount of blood. A benefit is the vein bleeds at its own rate, and I find they stay patent much more often than when using vacutainers or syringing out all the blood. It coud make it messy if you don't have everything ready, but I've gotten used to it this way. ANd lab has never had a problem with this.

I have always used a Littman classic II Pedi stethescope. The Nursery I worked in had inant and pedi sizes, but unless extremely preterm, the pedi scope was always sized ok, In fact, our neonatologists used the pedi instead of infant scopes. Either way, Littman in my experience has been very durable and with great sound quality. They aren't the cheapest you could find, but is an investment that will last years.(4 years on mine so far).

I have an associates rn degree. I started out of school on a small hospital's general peds unit-think 1-6 patients at a time. I then went to OB/Nursery, to work as we were supposed to get a level 2 nursery. Well, 2 years later, no nursery and I'm doing mostly labor and delivery. I have 2 weeks left, then I start in a bigger hospital, same town, doing their peds ER. I guess I am still a kid at heart. Besides, how often do adult nursing jobs allow you to play?

Another male nurse here working OB. I have been in L/D nd nursery for 2 years now and can count on one hand the times problems have come up requiring a need to switch assignments. There will be those time, just so you know, but that cannot dicourage you. Currently I am doing Labor patients, but am looking to go to a larger facility with level 2 nursery capabilities-my true love. That is the best of both worlds for me, attending deliveries and doing neonatal care. My coworkers have been great and there are often times just me and one other nurse, so they don't look at me differently. Go for it! I like evey part of the job, except the breastfeeding part-never did master it! Just curious, where do you other male Ob RNs work, as far as what type/level facility? Just a small community hospital with approx. 700 deliveries yearly here.

In my hospital, which is a small city hospital with private docs and not a teaching hospital, I have found the following to be true of our docs. The OB docs in general seem to be very easy going towards the staff, most not getting upset with dilation/effacement exams as long as they feel you are competent to begin with. Most wee very kind when I stated as a new nurse, teaching me what they want, patiently most of the time. Our neos are not always so great, and really do like to eat new nurses alive. But my background was peds so I worked with the same neos for a couple years, and once you are in with them, they are a piece of cake. I think the peds/neo guys seem alot more uptight, but they are used to rounding and getting out in 1-3hrs. (at our hospital, whch is only well-baby) The OBs are the ones who will be in 4 times a iht if they have to be, so they are used to sitting and talking and being cordial with us as they pass their time. That being said, they do like to get down to business when they can and don't hang around if they don't need to, as they all have office hours too. I have seen them call home and tell wives/husbands that they would nt be home and wil camp out in an empty suite if a patient may need them. Lastly, our midwife that we have is excellent, and sits at the bedside with nearly all of her patients from 8-9 cm on.

We are lucky as the hospital provides and launders our scrubs. For the women, they wear ceil blue or navy pants, and a white top with foot prints in pink and baby blue. As the lone guy, they thankfully let me wear the all navy scrubs our docs and or team wears. Our uniforms, aside from mine, are all identical for the reason of infant security. It is very nice to be able to throw out our soiled clothes and get new ones, and not worry about bringing home someone's amniotic fluid....Which shouldn't be an issue with universal precautions but we all know how it smetimes goes. I think darker colors are always nice, and black pants go with nearly everything.

Ok, I know this is probably a decision that will need to be more about what I want more than anything. I have as an RN a couple years in Pediatrics and a couple years in Labor/delivery/nursery. NNP's, most of you probably work in hospitals, am I correct? Where do the PNP's here work? Another question is the competitiveness of the programs as far as which has more schools, potential for employment, etc.? I also am curious about the autonomy of one versus the other. Lastly, and this is probably my least concerning question as job satisfaction far outweighs monetary satisfaction, what is generally the difference between NNP's and PNP's? Obviously this varies greatly but I was wanting just a very generic outlook. Thank you very much.

:hbsmiley:Thanks to all. Jackson Samuel was born Wednesday June 11th at 13:13. 8#4oz, and everything has gone well. I was nervous, as my coworkers who took care of us that day said I would not quit pacing. The doctor let me "catch" the baby in OR, so I can say I held him first. Only thing was that the breast feeding didn't work(she just wasn't into it). And our doc never made rounds on her post op day #1, but everything turned out awesome. I even got to have one OB nurse photograph everything, and another did the whole section on video.(the one nurse was there when I was born, and was there when my wife was born too! Talk about full circle. Thanks again to all.Here's the lil ball of fur.(obviously the date on pic is wrong)

Well, tommorrow at 1230 my wife will go in to have a primary c/s due to our little guys habit of trying to land feet first. Those who have been here before, you know how this feels. I have been an ob nurse for 1.5 years now, and I am very excited. But being an ob nurse is perhaps making me more nervous than most new dads. I wish I could only worry about the thought of taking care of a newborn and not knowing what I wouldn't know, but I can't help think of some of the bad experiences. How, can I ask, have you ob nurses who have been in the biz before having your own kids, deal with these thoughts? It's bad enough being worried about my wife, I cannot imagine if I was the one having the surgery. I know it'll all be okay, and if nothing else, my wife is probably less nervous than some primips because I can answer her concerns. Oh, what a feeling! Thanks all!

I work in ob and we seem to have students every day. I love it, and their instructors for the most part make them very helpful to us as they bathe new babies, get things for our laboring moms, and help with vital signs. All these things and all they ask in exchange is to share nursing with them. I remember what it was like as a student and like to believe that as an RN I have a good rapport with the ones in our department. It mainly involves the instructor if a particular group seems disrespectful or unappreciative. I know that we were told the students would report to us before "signing off", but one group would just leave. And the instructor for that group would make the students take lunch two at a time, but the problem was that while the whole group was lunching, the instructor would join each group in the breakroom, and we wouldn't see her for hours. That, to me, is not the students fault. So I think the instuctor should be asked about this.

Grumpy, I'll only put her through what she will let me. I promise. It scared the crap out of her as soon as the risk(however great or small) of an emergency situation was explained to her. Heres to my wife and all the other women (and I guess now even men:no:?) who go through this process of childbirth.:bowingpur:bow::rckn::nmbrn::rcgtku::thankya:

No guys, sorry to sound as if advice was needed. I was just really curious what you have seen and what you may have opted for. The decision is made, and we are happy and comfortable with it. I see how it could have sounded otherwise. Thanks for the response. The curiosity comes from that we do very few versions, maybe 5-6 per year. The one 3 I know about in my career had 2 stat sections and one successful. Thanks again and sory to sound like an advice seeker-we have a great ob/gyn whom my wife can ask anything to, and is always open for my first time father questions when at work. And the number of sections a woman can have, I should have asked how many have you seen personally, as this is a moot point for us now since it is our first. We,ll worry about that if we are blessed with any more.

:DMy wife is now 37wks with our first baby:yeah:. I have now worked 1.5 years labor and delivery and have some questions. Our baby is breech and we had the option to attempt external version or schedule a c/s. My wife chose the c/s, can't really blame her. She's of the short stature variety, and there was some question as to could they even turn the baby. How many versions do y'all see successful as opposed to the failures, and how many of those have you seen become a stat/urgent section? Would you personally have opted for the version? Another question, as I am relatively new in OB, there is a limit to how many c/sections they would like a woman to have, correct? How many is it, if there is an acog guideline? I know its a lot of questions fom someone who should know, but I'm learning that for my wife and her own pregnancy I feel like I know about as much as any first-timer. Thanks all!

Well, another male ob here. I guess it really comes down to each patient percieves us as nurses differently. Just because a small number of women will not accept that someone without kids can be an excellent ob nurse does not mean the majority of women will even care enough to ask. Nor is it wrong of those who do doubt you, shrug and go on. Believe me, as a guy in this field, I've done that a few times. I have, unfortunately, seen some of the nurses come accross to their patients as been there, done that, particularily with very young pts who have limited pain tolerance. To the OP, as I said, shrug it off. Just as a patient is never expected by myself to have to justify why she would not want a male nurse, so neither do these patients. Who knows what their opinions are and who cares, as long as their right is respected and you continue to take great care of the hundreds of others who won't even ask you.

I just have some soul searching to do, as for the past 2 years i have worked in ob/L+d/nursery. I have recently been thinking about taking an ER position at a smaller hospital, and half an hour less drive than I make now. I don't know about pay difference yet, but I was wondering if any of you have gone from being ob nurses to er nurses. I know I'll have a challenge learning to take care of sick adults again, but other than that, do you regret gong from ob to er? I know severl who have gone from er to ob, and want some input on going the other way. Thanks alot.

:)An update on the original post patient that caused me to have my most sad day. Last week I was called out of another labor to our front nursing sation. There stood the patient who had delivered the fetal demise through her circlage. She looked to be doing well, and had come up to tell us how much she appreciated our care. The whole ob department got a large box of assorted sweets, and a nice card. Then she gave me, personally, a larger box with cupcakes, and a personal card, thanking me in particular and wishng us luck on our first pregnancy. How selfless of her, and it had to be very very hard for her to come back to the place so soon after the devastating loss, and seeing the one person whose face she probably most associates with the tradgedy. It made me feel really good, and came on a day where I thought maybe my career wasn't quite as for me as I thought.(due to other reasons) It goes to show us how much we can give these patients, but in the end we get it back, in this case by her reaffirming for me that I am doing what I am supposed to do.

OP here, and just wanted to say thanks for looking at my posts. This was the saddest, but there were several others over my short OB career so far, and all seem to get to me, but we all know we have to put that mother first, so we do as we are taught-not as nurses but human beings. They can teach anyone to check cervixes(is that a word?) or how to do so and so, but we that feel good in this field and those who are good with patients seem to have that inner desire to put others first. You see it all the time, which nurses are there for what reasons. Anyway, my first IUFD was a 39wk primip, diabetic acidosis, was in ICU 3 days before being induced. This is the maddest I've been, and not at the mother, who may or may not have brought this on herself(who cares at this point). No, during delivery, the Dr., instead of handing the baby to me to wrap and give to mom, tossed(and I mean tosed) the baby into the waterbasin.:angryfire:uhoh3: I'll never forget the look of the poor babies body just sprawled into the basin. Then, as if he hadn't done enough, he:devil: tells the mother in front of all of her family(who probably didn't know the whole story) "Sorry about the outcome, but I'm really sorry we couldn't impress upon you the importance of what we were trying to do." Then he threw his gown down and stomped out. He lost two patients that day, the baby, and the mom who wouldn't even let him round on her the next day. And, the other nurse with me actually defended all his actions! I've never been more horrified of the medical profession. If I ever get that way, God help me!

Had to share with others who have been here too. I had a 21 week primip 36 year old. Cerclage pt last week. Came in, turns out membranes ruptured. The doppler had excellent heart rate, but she had quite a bit of fluids leaking. I then went to do the next doppler of my shift and found....nothing. MD was there at 0100 am for another delivery, so we did us and baby had passed. I had this pt 2 days in a row, and held her hand and prayed with her, as her husband was out of town and our weather kept him away. When I left that night, we had just given her the cytotek. I had a meeting the next day, so I stopped in to say hello to them. I could tell they appreciated it.(FOB was there by the time she delivered) As I went to leave her room, she told me good luck and best wishes, as my wife is 25 wks at this time. I truly do not cry often, and I've had my share of demise pts, but It just hit me. Anyway, I was just thinking that we have a rare and awesome job among healthcare workers in that we can be in a delivery room welcoming life into the world one minute, and the next be seeing an ultrasound that shows another life never will be welcomed. Sorry to drone on. I guess there still isn't much point to this entry, just needed to tell this. Thanks if you've made it this far!

Some thoughts- Whatever opinion you have is fine. There is no right or wrong way. If you come out of school able to learn quick to become that vascular intensive care nurse, more power to you. And some specialties, like the poster who mentioned NICU(I'm jealous by the way), would not have the slightest parallell to Med Surg. I myself started in Peds. This worked well, as med surg probably doesn't paralell a ton, except our rare peds surgeries or diabetes, etc. Not many Medsurg floors see RSV or Rotavirus. As for procedures, if you can start an Iv on a dehydrated 2 month old, you can usually do the rest. Anyway, L/D and well nursery now. Would med-surg have helped? Definately, we see tons of post op c sections and GYN surgeries, but most of my job, Labor and Delivery, has a unique skill set to that area. In short, do what you want, no matter what me or anyone else says.