VTBabyNurse

I'm a WHNP who had no interest in FNP because I knew I loved OB/GYN. However, being specialized does limit your opportunities. If you like other things besides Women's Health, I recommend staying in FNP! That way if an OB/GYN job is hard to find, you have other options. Sometimes I think I should have started with FNP because WHNP jobs are limited. But I do love what I do and I have no interest in doing anything else :)

I am an NP in Women's Health near Northern Virginia (depends on your definition of Northern Virginia). I can tell you according to ADVANCE for NPs, the average hourly pay is $50 (for part-time). They say the average salary from 2014 in Virginia was $97,000. I have been working as an NP in Women's Health for 4+ years. At a local health dept I make $39 (ouch). I make $47 working prn for a university medical center, and a private practice recently agreed to pay me $50 (part-time). Hope this helps and welcome to the area.

What are our general thoughts about non-compete agreements for those of us NPs who cannot practice independently? Is it reasonable for an employer to not allow you to work for a year and within 30 miles of their practice if you left? I signed one that was for 18 months and 25 miles for my first private practice job. I was so unhappy there but felt trapped. I eventually quit and now I travel an hour away from home. I have a new offer close to home that sounds great except they say their non-compete is not negotiable. After what I want through before I don't want to sign and may turn it down just because of this reason. I would like to know if other NPs are accepting this as standard or fighting it? Thanks!

Has anyone heard of/practiced giving newborns Vit K PO? We have a patient who is requesting it so the baby won't get a painful injection. (Ironically, also wants to circumcise the baby). Anyway, since we have all seen many a birth plan...I thought someone else might have heard of this. Thanks!

I just graduated from an online program in December. It took me 5 months to find a job but I did WHNP

Does anyone have any information on the typical NP starting salary in the Northern VA area..specifically Fredericksburg/Stafford? Or know where I can find a good resource? Most of the websites I have found are the "average" NP salaries which don't take into account years of experience or speciality. I need help with negotiating my first job offer! Thanks :) :)

Thanks for all of your feedback. I can't discuss the details of the situation in too much depth in case someone is familiar with the situation...but the nurse never had a history of med errors. I wasn't implying that she wasn't equally responsible. Both of the nurses made a mistake and on a hard, hectic day like this was one, it can happen very easily if you aren't careful. I do think the situation could have been handled better. At my facility we have a computerized method of giving meds...verified by several people before actually administering the medication. This is much safer for patients, but not all hospitals have adopted this way of medication administration. I think it was a good point made that you feel pressured to not take your time and verify the 5 rights with your co-workers. You don't want to insult the other person, however, we all know you should CYOB. I guess it surprised me you can be fired for any reason, or no reason. Just wonder if this person is going to have trouble getting a job now.

Hi everyone, If you are the nurse who verified a wrong med dose because you werent being careful and the pt. was given too much of a drug by another nurse, but the pt. didnt have any harm and you checked the pt, called the doc and monitored the pt...should you be fired for that??? Or can you be reported to the board of nursing? I always thought med errors were something every nurse does..and this nurse was fired on the spot. Very confused...thoughts?

1) Last week at the office a soon to be mom at 39 weeks said "If I don't have my baby this week I will be devastated! My mom is only here for a week!". Um sorry, the baby doesn't go on your mother's timetable, or yours. He will get here when he's ready. She's being induced now.... 2) A couple of week ago we were checking the baby's blood sugar and the dad said, "it ought to be good, I haven't had any sodas today." I wanted to say "wow you are dumb". 3) When they bring the baby to the nursery so they can go outside to smoke I wish I could say "sorry, the nursery is closed!" 4) One time this mom told me that her WIC appointment wasn't for a week so I needed to give her a week's worth of formula to take home. I wanted to say "Um, if you can't feed your baby for a week shouldn't you be saving your money instead of going down to the cafeteria to buy yourself a sub?" Or how about, "if you can't feed your baby for a week maybe you should give up your cell phone".

So it's the middle of my second semseter and I decided to look on the boards and found lots of replies to a thread I posted last semester that I wasn't aware of! How are things this semseter? I am more convinced that this is right for me even though it's difficult at times. Is anyone else having to do patient actor scenarios? I just did mine last weekend..stressful..but turned out okay. I still have my days when I feel like a total idiot. But overall, I am liking it better.

As far as studying....whenever I am not working my 24 hours a week, I am at home doing some type of work, whether it is reading, studying, projects, papers, etc. But, I am also taking 6 classes, so I feel like if I don't spend all that time doing things then I will get behind.

There has been a lot of talk about PDAs. My program doesn't require one...and I know nothing about them. Does anyone suggest them? And what programs do you have on them? Do they make your life any easier?

At least in your patho class you are starting at the beginning with the cell My program threw me right into immunology. I had to go back and look up the def. of an interleukin, among other things. My book is very detailed, and I keep reading it and going "what did that just say?". It makes me feel dumb that I can't seem to understand it when I first read it.

Thanks so much for the comments! I think that makes sense about feeling overwhelmed at first when you learn about everything you have to do. I decided to stick it out and try to get myself together. Thanks so much for the encouragment everyone! LeesieBug good luck in school. It's nice to know somewhere, someone is feeling the same as me. I really recommend part time!!! Even going part time, I wish I had less hours to work, but that's not an option for me.

Yes the papers are horrendous!!! We have to write a proposal for a research project...a paper that is stretched out over 3 semesters. I couldn't care less about designing a research project either, and I can't even come up with a topic right now that I would be interested in absorbing myself in for three semseters. Oh yeah, and I have papers in most of my other classes. They must really want to weed out people this semseter!

Yes, all of those classes are in one semester. I could go to part-time and do a couple of classes a semester and stretch it out over 3 years, however I would prefer not to do that because I'd rather not wait to start a family for three years...I was hoping to start one earlier than that. I don't want to be in school for three years..yikes! I already did 6 years of undergraduate school (two bachelor's degrees). I just don't know how to tell if I even want to do this or not.

Hi fellow students, I know that some of us have started our NP programs this week. How does everyone feel so far? I am having doubts myself about whether or not this is right for me. Anyone else?

Hi everyone, So this was my first week of NP school through ODU. I am on the WHNP track right now. It's the end of week 1, and I am having some serious doubts about whether this is something I want to do or not. When you were in NP school, how did you feel? When I am sitting in class and they are telling me the work that is required, instead of being up to the challenge, I find myself not being excited at all. Usually, I like school, but I can't even imagine myself doing all this work. It seems overwhelming and I wonder if I can even keep up. There is a lot of self-teaching involved, and I am also working part-time. I am taking Advanced Patho, Advanced Pharm, Advanced Health Assessment and Lab, a research class and a class in family health. Does my lack of enthusiasm mean that this might not be right for me? Thank you.

i am starting a women's health np program tomorrow through odu!! and thinking i am crazy...it's full time and i am also working part-time. my classes this fall are: advanced patho pharm for np's advanced assessment foundations of nursing theory (research class) primary family care good luck to all. i am excited too!

Hi NP's :) I am an RN who is considering attending a master's program to be a Women's Health NP. I have worked as a nurse on mother/baby for two years and lately I have felt like I need a more challenging job. A friend told me about the program, and the deadline to apply was quickly approaching, so I applied and took the MAT. Now I wait to see if I am accepted or not. Here is my question: Prior to this decision to apply for grad school I was making plans to try to start a family this year. If I go to school I'll be waiting another two years to have kids. I wonder how children fit into your career as an NP? As it is now, I work three days a week, but as an NP I would probably work 5. How does this work with you and your family? Another question: When you become a mother, will it matter as much to you that your job isn't quite so challenging if you are going to be taking on the new challenge of motherhood? When I mentioned my thoughts to my hubby, he was excited that I would make more money as an NP and thus be able to provide more for our kids. However, I don't believe in taking a new job just because of money because I beleive in being passionate about what you do. (He's an engineer, so it's hard for him to understand a nurse's perspective that money isn't everything) Plus I believe kids would benefit more from the time you can give them versus what kids of stuff you can give them. I have an interest in the field, but I am also interested in other units as an RN too. I would appreciate any input. I don't want to take this decision lightly. Thanks for reading this post:nurse:

Hi everyone, Tonight I am working in the NICU and I just witnessed a conversation between two mothers that disturbed me a lot. The sad thing is that this type of scenario happens frequently around here. Basically they were talking about how hard it was to raise their 11 children and how the baby's daddy was abusive and wanted custody of the children. One of them said the baby's daddy tried to break her neck last night and she broke his nose. The other one countered with a story about how her baby daddy punched her in the stomach. Then they act so concerned about thier premature baby and yet they did drugs during their pregancy. It is so disheartening to see this. I really feel worried for these children because the state of VA is not strict with cases like these and the babies go home with the mothers. I know you all have seen this too. But how can we as nurses make changes to help these children? How do you all deal with these types of situations?

Hey HappyNurse :) Do you by chance work at CRCH? I think I know you :) If you are the person I think you are, congrats! I never got to see you while you were here but your baby was gorgeous! And don't worry, no one thinks bad of you for screaming your head off. Who wouldn't with over a 10 lb. baby?!?!? -from a little BRT nurse on nights :) :balloons:

I doubt all units are this way. Even though there is gossip on mine, I would never describe my coworkers as evil. I think some units are probably more hateful than others. Maybe those nurses are burnt out and hate thier jobs so the try to make everyone else feel miserable as well. If I were you I'd probably try to stick it out and see if things got any better. If you know you can't stand it and it is making you depressed then you need to do what is best for your mental health. Good luck with whatever happens. Pray about it :)

How awful! From personal experience I think that this happens in almost every work environment. Especially those in which there are mostly women. At my work there is a lot of talking behind others backs. I think it is because they are too afraid to say how they feel to the person's face. It is very cowardly and unprofessional. And if someone doesn't "fit in" then they get the brunt of the verbal abuse. I feel pretty well liked on my unit and I have received positive feedback from most everyone. No one has ever acted hateful to me. So naturally I was shocked when one night my charge nurse took me aside and told me that I needed to be careful about what I say around others. I asked her to clarify but she wouldn't tell me what I said or who made the complaint. Apparently someone was complaining about me being negative or something. It was very hard to hear that people who act nice to your face are probably talking about you behind your back. It bothered me at first ,and then I decided if the person can't tell me what problem they have with me to my face then it isn't even worth worrying about. You can't go around worrying about every little thing you say or do that someone may have a problem with. People will find fault in anything, but deep down they know they are the one's with the problem. Don't sink to thier level! It is very easy to fall into the conversation and find yourself doing the exact same thing. As tough as it might be, try not to let what other people think bother you or define who you are/ what type of nurse you are. It is hard to enjoy your job when you feel unwanted on your unit. It is unfair of them to be talking behind your back when they probably don't even know you that well. If you catch someone doing it you can confront them about it. This happened to someone on my unit. Another nurse was mimicking her voice to me when she walked in the door and heard everything. The nurse who was making fun was really embarassed. The other nurse said, "I know you are talking about me and I don't appreciate it." It made the nurse look about 2 inches high. Anyway, I hope your situation gets better. You can always come here to vent.

I work in a community hospital where L&D and postpartum/nursery are separated. I prefer being a baby nurse because I can go to deliveries, or take care of sick transitioning babies, or normal wellborn babies. It also works for me because I prefer taking care of babies instead of mothers. Other things you might think about are what type of client does each hospital serve. We take care of some private patients and a lot of low-income, poorly educated patients. Unfortunately we see a lot of sad cases of drug abuse, or teenage/unwed mothers, or mothers who don't want their baby, etc. We have about 350 deliveries per month, which makes it very busy for us. But I enjoy caring for my patients and being busy. The LDRP hospital in town serves only private patients. Their census is a lot lower than ours. This may mean the nurses have more time to spend with the patient? I have never worked in that type of environment though so I can't say which is better to do as far as being a jack of all trades or specializing in one area. These are things to think about when applying. Are they making you do med/surg first? That stinks! If you like taking care of mothers and babies then maybe rotating would be good for you. Good luck on whatever you decide!