tigkaskit

Many years ago, I transferred from Peds ICU to L&D/MotherBaby/Nursery and have been there ever since. For the most part, the patients are fairly healthy, but having experience in other areas will help you when you do get a pt that is "sicker" than the rest. I've met a lot of RNs who started in Mother/Baby as new grads, and they're very uncomfortable when we have the occasional drain, NGtube, central line, etc. It's always helpful to have someone on the unit that has additional experience outside of Mother/Baby.

I did this as a new grad. The hospital I was working at as a nursing student offered me an RN position. I told them I still had interviews lined up that I was committed to. They gave me a deadline so I accepted because I did enjoy that unit, but backed out when one of my interviews offered me my "dream" job at a different hospital. Was that the professional thing to do? Maybe not. But they knew I was still job searching and tried to pressure me. It all worked out fine in the end though and I even worked at that hospital again during my career.

I have 15yrs experience at the bedside (mostly OB and PICU) and, like a lot of nurses nowadays, would like to get away from the bedside. I'm interested in statistics, numbers, spreadsheets, things like that. What type of nursing job would this translate to? Would it be something like quality assurance? or utilization review? I just don't even know what keywords to use in my search to find an office-based job like this. Or maybe what I'm interested in is not nursing-based at all? Any insights? ETA: I have a BA in Healthcare Administration, and a BSN

Even if you can find a job like that, I wouldn't recommend it. Even just starting a new unit as an experienced nurse is difficult in a part-time status. I was a nurse for almost 4 years when I changed specialties. I was required to do 3 months of full-time orientation, but after that I was 24hrs/wk. The people who started along side me, but worked full-time after orientation, caught on to things much easier, quicker, and were much more comfortable than I was. It took a LONG time before I felt competent and comfortable in the new position. Maybe that's just me, but it would cause me a lot of anxiety to be a new grad in a less than full time position.

Ehhh. Probably. Because I have no idea what else I would do. I make really good money in a (mostly) cake job. I use limited childcare due to working nights. Working weekends and holidays suck but our per diem rate is SO much less than my current rate that I just can't make that switch. Overall, my part time schedule just works for our family right now, and no other job can do that. I frequently wish I could afford to be a SAHM, but at the same time, I'm glad I can't. It gives me some sort of purpose/identity outside of my kids.

I'm assuming these are based on 40hrs/wk? I seem to remember taking this survey and being unsure how to answer as a part-time employee. If you ask me my annual salary, I'd say one thing but it's a far cry from what I could potentially make.

When you consider that retirement age is 20+ years away, 42 is certainly NOT too old to try something new.

I'll agree with the others that said that 6 couplets is WAYYYYY too many. I'll admit though, that I've worked on a small PP floor where we routinely had 5 or 6 couplets, and we survived. I'm not sure how, but I think our acuity was really low at that time which helps. AWOHNN standards dictate 3-4 couplets, which is what we follow. We also have a lot of NICU moms, and antepartums, so we would rarely have 4 moms and 4 babies. It's usually 3:2, 4:2, or 4:3, or something like that. Our L&D does the initial baby assessment. Skin-to-skin for 1hr, then shots/drops, measurements, footprints, assessment, etc. Bath is delayed for 24hrs and is generally done at the bedside by the tech or RN (usually the RN). Admissions to the floor involve assessment on both mom and baby, and orientation to unit and room (reviewing visiting hours, plan of care, etc). I personally feel the orientation/education portion is the most time-consuming. The RN is generally on her own for admissions but it's really a 1-person job anyway. Although we are supposed to document at the bedside, we usually do it at the desk when we can. By the time couplets are transferred to us, they're so exhausted they usually just want to be left alone. I can't imagine having to do all the required baby stuff (that our L&D does) when we get them.

I transferred from PICU to OB roughly 7 years ago and have never looked back.

I think a PRN L&D position for someone who has never done L&D is a recipe for disaster and setting you up for failure. To me, PRN means a couple of shifts (maybe 2 or 3) per month. I believe one really needs the repetitive exposure to everything that can happen in order to be a good L&D RN. I work part-time, 2-12s per week, and always felt at a disadvantage compared to the full-timers. I just think one would need a really good solid L&D foundation before being able to take on a PRN status and still do well.

My unit requires C-EFM for all nurses. We had to take and pass it within the first 18months of working. Some RNs do have their RNC-OB as well, but it's not something that's pushed on us, and to be honest, I don't know who has it and who doesn't. The C-EFM requires less to maintain if that factors into your decision at all. And it's less expensive. I think of it sort of as an "add-on" cert whereas the RNC is the "main event."

When we opened our new hospital 18 months ago, we went to color coded scrubs for each job. Nurses are navy, techs are olive, pharmacy is black, etc etc. Our OR/L&D scrubs changed from that greenish color to royal. As much as I didn't really want to give up my prints, I really love the uniforms. We look so professional. And while we have to buy the scrubs through the hospital (embroidered with the logo and job title) we do have a choice of styles so we can pick ones that fit the best.

This is totally us as well. I think the switching back and forth between couplet and nursery is a bit odd. Do you force your moms to send the baby to the nursery? If mom IS keeping her baby in the room overnight, I'm assuming then both the PP RN as well as the Nursery RN would have to check in with her for cares which would increase the amount of interruptions at a time when they should be minimized. I would MUCH rather have 3 couplets than have 6 moms to care for. We're working toward baby-friendly status now so we are supposed to encourage not sending the baby to the nursery also. However, as someone who's had 3 babies and DID send them to the nursery between feeds (and still successfully breastfed for roughly 18months each), I might be a little ticked off if I got a lecture (even a polite lecture) against this. Yes, moms DO need to sleep and this is the only opportunity to do so. They're not going to be able to send their baby off when they get home so why not take advantage of it for the 2 nights they can. Many moms have been awake for well over 24hrs and even the normal little whimpers of a newborn can be hard to sleep through. Just trying to give you a mom's take on this.

L&D. And as with a previous poster, baby could board as long as another adult takes responsibility.

Healthcare is a really tight-knit field. Managers talk between hospitals all the time, and you never know when you're going to cross paths with someone down the road. Burning bridges is NEVER a good thing. In my area, giving notice as an RN has always been 4 weeks. Is it still the standard 2 weeks in other areas?

I started in PICU and recently moved to perinatal (crosstrained in L&D, antepartum, and postpartum). I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought I would and will probably transfer again although I'm unsure of what to do next. I think I need to get out of bedside nursing all together. I'm tired of having the stress of being responsible for someone's life.

I worked rotating 12hr shifts in an ICU up till 2weeks before I delivered. Dr pulled me out of work at that point due to medical concerns (all turned out to be fine though). I'm glad I didn't get pulled out of work any earlier because the more time I had off before the baby, the less time I would have off after the baby, and it was really important to me to have my full 3 months of FMLA available to spend with my newborn.

No air.

hmmm. I don't have any research to offer you, just personal experience. As a former PICU nurse who just transferred to mother/baby (and other OBGYN units), I can tell you that the knowledge base is COMPLETELY different. Granted, the pts in mother/baby are generally healthy, but you still need to assess appropriately (both mom and baby) and my PICU knowledge doesn't always cross over too much into the adult arena. Give me an intubated child with dropping O2sats or high ETCO2 and I could tell you exactly how to "troubleshoot" so to speak...give me a mom with PP hemorrhage and I get a little nervous. And a Peds nurse floating to an ICU is just unsafe in general. Now I do come from a large teaching hospital with a Level 4 NICU and a 20-something bed PICU, and no one floats to other units. I'm sorry I'm not really helping you. I'm angry for you that you're required to float and could potentially put these patients at risk.

That's almost how I did it also...except that I would generally go to bed as soon as I got home and sleep 8a-4p. On my last night, I'd sleep from 8a-12 or 1p, then go to bed at 10ish for the night. 3 in a row was really hard for me (although 3 nights in a row was much easier than 3 day shifts in a row). By the last shift my feet hurt, my legs hurt, and I was cranky regardless of how much I had slept. I'm now in the situation that your preceptor is in. I have a baby, and only work 1 shift at a time. It's killer, but I only work 24hrs/wk, and it beats putting my baby in daycare!

Either way, being pregnant during school and being pregnant while working are both hard! But I'm sure I dont' have to tell you that since this isn't your first.

I totally agree with the previous post. If you work till 5, get home at say 5:30, and your baby goes to bed around 7:30 or 8 (basing this on my own 9 week old), you barely have any time with your little one. If you can stand the 12hr shifts but can't stand nights, can you possibly switch to 12hr days? Or is part-time an option? I really feel like the more full days off you have, the better.

Thanks guys. The Earth shoes look kinda like Birkenstocks. They might be nice. I did try on some more Merrells at REI. Surprisingly I had to wear a 7 1/2 in the one model. I usually wear 7, and sometimes 6.5 in shoes. How frustrating that sizing can't be consistent, even within the same brand.

Can you delay getting pregnant for about 4 months after starting a job? That would let you qualify for FMLA since you will have been there a year at the end of your pregnancy, right? I'm currently on maternity leave, and love that I can be off for the full 12 weeks. If I'd had to go back after only 6 weeks I think I would have had a really hard time. Out of your 2 options you posted, I think I might rather be pregant thru my last semester (although it will be really hard) so that I could spend as much time with the baby as I wanted before committing to a job.

I am returning to work in a few weeks after maternity leave, and I am choosing to work 12hr nights (only 2 shifts per week) so that we can avoid paying for childcare. Have you thought about your child care options if you're working M-F? I know the increased pay is a big draw, but you're going to be spending it on daycare unless you're lucky enough to have a family member watch your baby for free. I'd be reluctant to leave L&D since it sounds like you like it so much. Sometimes it's hard to find a nursing job you actually like!