purplepanda

I don't honestly know if giving letters/information to HCPs would do anything. Of course, I'm still a student, so I don't really know what it's like in the field. If you want my advice, I'd suggest finding a good adoption agency. Good luck!!

Man. I get so sick of all these misconceptions about midwives. I got into nursing school in the first place to be a CNM! Don't let him get you down, if that's what you want to do. Midwifery is actually gaining popularity recently in the US.

I'm in Utah, and the main hospital chain here doesn't even hardly hire LPNs anymore. So, none on L&D or M/B, but they actually still hire LPNs on the Level 2 NICU. Go figure.

Intermediate Care. Usually an ICU step-down.

I'd really love to respond to all of these individually, but there's no way I can. A lot of you really got exactly what I was talking about. I don't think it will get in the way of my professionalism, to the degree that I'll have to change fields (of course, I'll need some experience to say that for sure!)... but I'm sure this is something I'll have to identify and actively work on. It can be a pretty heartbreaking field to work in, with all that's going on in society these days. I definitely don't want to give up, though. If i can teach someone how to better take care of that baby, be their advocate, make some tiny difference in the baby's life, it will make it all worth it. I did want to specifically respond to HeritageRN... i think your response made the biggest impact on my thinking. I'll probably always remember that awful story of how they treated your mother, and think about it when I'm taking care of these new moms who will always remember their days in the hospital with either fondness or horror. I never want to be the reason they tell their children what a terrible experience giving birth was.

I really want to work in L&D when I graduate... or really, anywhere in the women's/children's field. My only hesitation is, I have very strong opinions about teen/single moms. As a young woman who has placed a baby for adoption against every selfish desire of my heart, I have a pretty hard time being tolerant and understanding of many young girls who just decide to keep "their" baby. I've kindof developed an attitude of "Well if I could do it, anyone can do it." I'm a little bit afraid that, despite my best efforts, some of that will come out in dealing with the inevetible teen parent situation. What do you do to set aside your personal prejudices and serve the teen/druggie/irresponsible/whatever new mom with love and understanding?

Thanks! I'll start doing that. But, when you say apply... apply to what? There really aren't any openings that I even qualify for (just RN, which I don't have yet!), except maybe L&D Tech... but those open up MAYBE once or twice a year. I will definitely talk to the nurse manager when I do my preceptorship, though. I was already planning on it. It's the last thing before I graduate, so it would be very convenient to go from being there and working as a student to working as an RN maybe a month later, if even. Thanks for your help!! Your situation gives me hope.

I'm supposed to do a teaching brochure on Health Promotion for a fictional pt going home after a severe episode of acute pancreatitis. It should be easy, but... i'm really not sure what to cover under health promotion!! What do you think? Just generally being healthy? S/s of a repeat episode to watch for? What to do when she first gets home to ease back into normal life? Safety? Comorbidities?? I would think a little bit of everything, but various other students are covering nutrition, medications, s/s, and hyperlipidemia. I guess I just really don't know where to begin with this. It's SUCH a broad topic. Ergh. Please help!

I'm in an ADN program, to graduate in December. I was just wanting to get a general opinion on how hard it is to get into L&D (that's where I want to specialize, and eventually become a CNM), and what can I do to help my case? I'm precepting in L&D, so I suppose that's a start, but is there anything else I can do to pad my resume? Because I hear it's a pretty competitive field.