jhhrn68

I got into maternity nursing after I burned out in another area. I spent 28 years in long term care so I went from one end of the spectrum to the other. L&D can be very stressful, not unlike the ER. I think I kind of thrive on the stress. On ...

Our unit is combined L&D, PP and nursery. Everyone is cross-trained and I started in L&D. That is still my favorite place to be but sometimes PP is a nice break from the chaos that L&D can be. Good luck with getting into L&D.

To the tune of Jungle Bells: Dashing room to room checking vital signs cervix getting thin visitors walking in ha ha ha Phone it keeps ringing MD checking in I need a drink or a break right now My nerves are getting thin Cervix closed She's a prime T...

Our moms stay 2 hours after the doc is finished doing whatever he is doing - like stitching. The baby stays with mom for about an hour then goes to the nursery where they do all the other measurements, give Vit. K, Hep B and do a gestational age ass...

If you give a patient an injection against their wishes, you can be charged with battery so I would assume the same would hold true for IV access.

Most newborns are not at risk for contracting Hep B as they are not having sex or using IV drugs. I think it is recommended because they are a captive audience, so to speak. If the mother is HbsAg postive, then that is a different story. Otherwise...

We only got busy again this past week, before that, things were really slow.

We have no openings on our unit and haven't had any for some time. I work casual labor and am not getting many hours on OB and now cannot get a regular part-time job. So I pick up some hours on med-surg and rehab. I think there are just fewer mate...

We do not float off our OB unit. I am a casual nurse so I sometimes volunteer on other units, but it has nothing to do with working on my unit and I don't do both on the same day. But we have had MRSA mothers on our unit and last week, we had a pt....

After reading this thread, I think I am going to propose self scheduling, or at least a little more input from the staff about the schedule. I know we always have to have someone working that can scrub and someone that can circulate and someone that...

When I was pregnant with my first, no one was doing routine US. But many people had little ways of predicting the sex of the baby and everyone was predicting boy. Just before delivery, I was given general anesthesia and my husband was not in the de...

We admit for ROM. For contractions, we have a 2 hour protocol. We monitor, check the cervix and then re-check in 2 hours. If no cervical change, then pt. can go home without being seen by doc. Sometimes the doc will want us to keep the pt. overni...

I have to agree with a previous poster - it depends more on the doctor than the nurse. You should be good with a midwife, though. We see very few natural births where I work and that is because we don't have any MD's who are supportive of natural b...

Nurses on our OB unit are not floated to any other unit. Of course, if the census is low, we may be told to stay home. I work med-surg sometimes for extra money but only when I am not scheduled on OB. On OB, we have to change into scrubs at work a...

I am not a big proponent of early vaccines for infants. Their immune systems are not that well developed. The only reason to give Hep B to newborns is that they are a captive audience. Breast feeding will protect the little ones from many diseases...

Where I work has a separate L&D, postpartum and nursery. And I have worked in a hospital with a small LDRP unit - just 8 rooms in a circle around a central nurses station. I think LDRP's work best in a small unit with not a lot of deliveries. ...

I work on a unit where we all rotate between L&D, nursery and PP. I love doing something different all the time. I started in L&D with no experience but got good training for about 3 months at least before being on my own. Then I stayed in...

Sorry you are having such problems with your new job. And don't be embarrassed about bawling. I think we all have done it at one time or another. I can't tell you what to do but you might find, that if you can stick it out for a while longer, that...

I am one of those nurses who believe it is best to get a year or so of med-surg experience before going to a specialty area. But I work with nurses who have never done anything other than OB. I sometimes will work on a med-surg floor and it helps t...

Anesthesia gets a separate consent fro the epidural.

Our moms can have 3 people with them during delivery. Once the table is set up and she is in stirrups, we do not allow any one else in. And no one comes into the room until after delivery and she is out of stirrups and the room somewhat cleaned up.

I had my second child at home with a CNM. It was a fantastic experience!!! I wouldn't want to do it any other way. (of course, I'm 60 now and don't have to worry about it.) At any rate, my sister decided to have her 2nd at home also and she and I ...

I would be all in favor of a natural birth. I had a home birth with my second child and it was fantastic. However, where I practice, the pts. are not well-informed and not prepared. None of the OB's would be supportive of a natural birth -too afra...

I'm glad you found a spot, Halinja. On our unit we do L&D, postpartum and nursery. So no one gets stuck in that black hole of L&D all the time. Postpartum is like a vacation after a horrible shift in L&D. I, too, find the 12 hr shift...

C-sections are not being done for the mother's convenience, but the doctors. The high rate of inductions is the cause of these c-sections. A woman comes in at 11 PM for an induction, the doctor comes in in the morning and ruptures membranes, by 5 P...