OBGYN*RN

Hello all! So after wanting to be an OB nurse ever since the beginning of nursing school my dream finally is coming true! I wasnt able to go right into OB after receiving my license because there were NO positions, I could barely find any jobs, let alone my dream job. But after 4 months I found work on an ortho/med surg unit and have been there for 9 months. I had been applying since I was eligible to transfer (after 6 months) to the OB unit upstairs, finally got an interview and got the job in Mom/Baby! Im so excited and happy im finally in the specialty I have wanted for so long. But now I find myself also nervous, will I pick up everything I need to since ortho/med surg is a completely different realm. I also find it slightly scary, that just as i was starting to feel pretty comfortable with being a nurse (as i am coming close to my one year), i will be taking a few steps back by "starting over". I guess you can say im excited for the change but also nervous for the change. After having the same routine for 9 months this will be different for me. So my question is, is the transition from med/surg nurse to mom/baby nurse a difficult one? Will it help me that im not a new NEW grad and have some experience? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated :)

Well, I was in a similiar situation about 2 months ago. I too am a new grad and was told by my hospital I would get a longer orientation. I thought I was getting 8 or 9 wks and ended up getting 6wks. I spoke with my nurse educator and they did explain they could extend it by a few days but not much more for scheduling reasons. I was terrified to get off Orientation, but like many vets have told me, you never are going to truly feel READY. You'll always think you can use more time. I use to jokingly say I would take a 6 month Orientation if they would let me. But I said all that to say that 2 months off Orientation later I feel Im doing ok. I still have tons of questions, still ask my coworkers for help...and thats ok. I still go to work everyday nervous, because Im hoping I can tackle the challenges of the night (I work nights) but my coworkers are amazing, and I never really feel alone. Just last week I had a patient spike a heart rate of 172, several PVCs on the monitor and I was terrified. But literally everyone there helped me. One nurse helped page a doctor for me, another nurse helped me with assessing the patient, another nurse was able to help me put orders in the computer that the doctor wanted and then ANOTHER nurse helped me get the patient to another unit that was better able to deal with patients with heart problems. I was truly thankful for their support. So I personally think you just do some soul searching...do you feel you're not ready to be alone because of your nerves, or do you feel you would be unsafe. IF you feel you would be unsafe I would definitely ask your manager about getting a few extra shifts added. Maybe you can shadow a nurse or your day off, or something of that nature to get extra time in. If you think its just nerves (which mine was, I had so much anxiety about this I cried a few times) then I think you should just bite the bullet and see how it goes. I really feel like sometimes the hardest part of getting off Orientation is the act of getting off. Once your off you realize that you're not really alone. You also realize that you learned alot more in Orientation than you thought. Im only 2 months off so trust me I completely understand what you are going through. But I really believe you will find its not as bad as you thought. Especially if you have nice,helpful coworkers. But dont quit...as you said jobs for new grads are so hard to come by. If you can tough it out I would. GOOD LUCK!

thank you all sooooo much! i really appreciate all your feedback/advice/experiences. i feel a bit better after reading your posts. sounds like for the most part most people on nights dont find it too terrible and getting your body use to the schedule is most of the battle. and @ kalipsored, im 23 so hopefully my social life doesnt suffer tooo much lol. though im sure it will decline a bit. but im willing to take the chance. with the economy and the job market so tough right now, i think having a job makes me happier than anything else. it took me forever to find a job (i graduated in june), so just being able to find something makes me ecstatic. well thanks guys! if anybody else has anymore tips, keep them coming. i work tonight for the first time so ill be sure to come back and tell you all how it was :)

Hello All, I'm a new grad RN on an ortho/med surg unit. As everyone knows nursing jobs for new grads are SO HARD to come by and the only position they had available was a night shift position (which I'm not complaining about I'm just thankful to have a job) nevertheless, I'm nervous about getting use to the schedule, being able to sleep in the day, staying awake etc. I'm also curious about what to expect on the nursing end. A lot of people say night shift is great for a new nurse to get comfortable and is a BIT slower paced (though I know with less resources available at night, it can also be harder). I would love to hear from any night shift nurses to give me a quick overview of your life on night shift, positives about working at night and what I can expect. I'm nervous about it so any help/advice would be appreciated :-)

hello all, just wanted to make a post because i graduate in 4 weeks from a bsn program and have my first interview soon. this job is my first choice of a place to work and im hoping i get the job. basically the job will start once i pass nclex and is a nursing internship where you get paid full rn salary to work with a preceptor/mentor for 16 weeks in various areas of the hospital. they float you to different areas to give you some good experiences and give you a quick taste of alot of units. then after the 16 week orientation is finished you take a full time job on a unit. at this hospital they no longer take new grads right into a unit..you have to go through this 16 week intenship/orientation in order to work there. so i said all that to ask, is there anything that you experienced nurses can tell me that i should make sure i do or dont do to do well in the interview. in my management class we learned alot of what to do on interviews i.e. know the hospitals vision/mission statement etc. but i know sometimes hearing advice from nurses might get me better info. any questions they always ask? anything i should make sure i say? any info would be helpful!

thank you so much! all of you guys have been very helpful with giving me an idea of what to expect. i will keep you updated on my progress!

thank you guys so much....that really helps alot more! im excited to get started!

hello everyone! i'm a senior nursing student in my last quarter of bsn school (10 more weeks left!!!) and im completing my last class which is our role transition, preceptor guided experience course (you work the shift of your preceptor 2-3 days per week and act as an rn). anyway i absolutely love ob and i was blessed to get into antepartum for the class (im so happy about it because literally everyone wants an ob postion in my class). so my question is can you guys give me a quick overview on what i'll see on an antepartum unit and what the rn does on these units. during my ob rotation last year they only put us on l&d and postpartum so i have never been on an antepartum unit. i just know from class that antepartum consists of patients who arent ready to deliver but might have complications with their pregnancy. but i was just curious as to whether some of the patients are general med patients who just happen to be pregnant or if it was pregnancy specific complications. just any feedback would be appreciated :-)

you will by no means remember everything. but there are serveral meds that are common knowledge and you will see so often in the field as a nurse that you will know side effects...complications..dosages etc without even really knowing that you know it. when i was a sophomore and took pharm i thought it would be the hardest class ever. i ended up with an A in it and ive still retained alot of the info we learned. and trust me...as a nurse you will never know ALL meds..the beauty is you can look them up in drug books...ask people.. and use many other resources to know what a drug is and what its for. but you will retain alot more drug info than you think.

hello mctavishcat, to answer your question I will first say that nursing school is hard..its challenging and takes a lot of time and dedication but its so worth it in the end. I am living proof that it can be done. Theres been times when ive lost sleep because of studying..couldnt hang out with friends because of the demands of classes and clinicals & wanted to pull my hair out because of hard classes but im almost done and ive made it through thus far with a 3.7 gpa and im still in one piece lol. As long as you work hard and give your all you will be just fine. So many people told me back in high school & in the beginning of college how hard nursing school is and how its one of the toughest, most stressful majors you can have..and they scared the sh*t out of me. But i must say..you have gotta just go into to it with the belief that you can do it. I'm not saying its gonna be easy but if its what you really wanna do..then you can do it..its as simple as that. Now as far as taking prereqs online..im not sure how that would work really. I would 1st check with the school to see if all the classes you already took will count towards your nursing prereqs. And By you already having a degree you can always check with the school to see if they offer online courses or a way for you to go to school without the demands of a full time nursing schedule. I know a lot of schools offer accelerated programs for nursing students who already hold bachelors degrees in another field. I will say though that usually BSN programs need their students to be full time. If you wanted to 1st become an LPN ..then an RN that might be a little easier if you need to teach full time. Not as far as the cost goes, if you go to a 4 year university to get yours BSN you will of course pay more than if you went to a community college to get your lpn or your associate RN...once you figure out what you wanna do, you can then figure out the cost and work on financial aid. Either way..I wish you good luck.

No problem Sand Dollar.. I'm glad i could be of help to you and everyone else. I know what it feels like to be entering nursing school and have soooo many questions and concerns. So im glad to help you. Now for your question...A&P is important..the basic structures of the body and how they work are important for nursing. But trust me..the info will sink in. Dont feel like you have to know everything and remember everything. And in most of my nursing classes they would review the A&P pertaining to whatever disease we were studying. But yes A&P is the foundation of everything..but dont let that scare you. I promise you when you are finished with A&P you will know so much and so much of it will stick with you. Now as far as chemistry and microbiology..those classes arent as important in nursing. Every now and then a little chemistry will help you when learning about drugs and medicines and microbiology will help with learning about bacterial infections and viruses but those classes wont make or break you in your nursing classes. I would say A&P would be the one class of your prereqs that will help you most with nursing school. Not saying your chem and micro arent important but im not gonna lie and say we use it alot lol. They make you take all those classes because they want you to be well rounded and have basic information on alot of things but trust me..if you dont memorize the periodic table you wont fail nursing school by any means lol.

For the hep B...I believe you have to have all 3 (the series) by the time they ask for your shot records. I know we had to. But I would call to ask and check with them to find out the details. As long as you have had 1 or 2 of the shots they might just be able to wait until you get your last one.

Glad to know im not alone :)

glad to see so many of you love med surg..it just wasnt for me. Thats why i love nursing..you can do whatever interests you.

Thats good you are excited! And you're right a lot of the prereqs are alot of memorization. Good luck with everything!

Just curious what clinical rotations you guys have enjoyed the most. I know at my school OB probably was one of the most popular..followed by Peds. Nobody really liked Psych or the adult rotations. Obviously my screen name says it all..I loved OB the most. I loved clinical so much..we were there for 8 hours and the time went by soooo fast. I have one more semester left before graduation and I will be doing my community clinical, but I doubt that will come close to OB for me lol. Then for the last 10 weeks I will be doing my role transition where I work as a nurse with a preceptor for 2 of her shifts a week..hopefully I will get the internship in Labor & Delivery which will really boost my resume' for applying into OB.

ok for your first question: my program is 4 years...I actually thought that all BSN programs were 4 years unless 1. you already hold a bachelors degree in another field and want a bachelors degree in nursing (in which you can enroll in an accelerated program which may be 2 or 3 yrs) or 2. if you are already an RN (2 yr RN) and want your bachelors. Other than that I was under the impression that all BSN programs required 4 yrs of college. For your 2nd question: In my skills lab it wasnt too nerve racking for me because we never really had to do anything in front of EVERYONE. My instructors would do a demonstration during the first half of class of the skills we were learning that day & after she was finished, we would get into partners or groups of 3 or 4 and practice the skills on the dolls. The instructor would then walk around and help each group and check off the students that way. There would be times when the instructor would ask if there was a student who wanted to volunteer to do a skill in front of the class,but most of the time it wasnt a requirement it was a volunteer thing. But honestly, you get so close with the students in your class that even if your instructor does make you do skills in front of the class, you will be fine. Everyone is learning and nobody will intimidate you. And if you do make a mistake..its no biggie..thats the best place to make a mistake because its only a doll...its not a patient. So thats the best time to ask questions, mess up, freak out..all of that. And all your classmates will be learning & making a few mistakes too..so dont worry about being embarassed or nervous..I promise you after one or two classes you wont even be phased by it. When I 1st started my skills lab my classmates and I needed help with everything..even small stuff like the correct way to bathe a patient lol. So trust me...you are not alone.

heres an example for you My schedule this past quarter: Monday: 10am-12:20pm Pediatrics CLASS Tuesday: 8am-9:50am Nurse as Professional Leader CLASS 10am-12:20pm Pediatrics CLASS Wednesday: 7:30am-3:30pm Ambulatory Care CLINICAL Thursday: 7am-7pm Pediatrics CLINICAL

Well this past quarter (im on winter break now) I had class mondays & tuesdays..had clinicals wednesdays & thursdays and had friday off. During my OB rotation last year (my junior year) I got lucky because I got my classes scheduled for mondays & tuesdays and only had one day of clinicals on wednesday so I had thursday AND friday off :). My freshman and sophomore year I had classes almost everyday..but once you get closer to graduation a lot of time you will get more days off. BUT those days that you do have class are JAM PACKED with hours of class (atleast for me it is)..so its no cake walk lol. But it is nice to have a couple extra days off during the week to study.

Good luck amjowens! I know how you feel..sounds like our teachers could be related lol. My class was set up the same way..no organization..notes were horrible..I just felt like I had to read every word of the book to grasp the material. I hated it. So I hope you do well on your exam wed. let us know how you do!

See im the opposite..I loved OB and got an A in it because I was so interested in it..and pysch I got an A as well..But its something about that peds..gave me my 1st B+..but oh well..Ill take it, im just glad its over lol

Actually when I first entered nursing school I was sooo sure I wanted to be a pediatric nurse. All through high school thats what I wanted to do because I love kids and always have. But after my OB rotation..I fell in complete LOVE with it. And I decided thats what I wanted to do and have stuck with it ever since. To answer your 2nd question..you usually start applying for nursing jobs during school. I graduate in june & and I have started the job search now. A lot of hospitals have told me to start applying in january or february. They like for soon-to-be grads to apply early because you will be put through orientation as a new nurse and since there are often a lot of new grads competing for the same jobs..they like to get their new grads interviewed & placed in orientation groups early. Lastly..the worst rotation for me would be Pediatrics (which I just finished). OB was great for me because I didnt mind studying because its what I love & want to do when I graduate. Psych wasnt bad because the clinical was very easy..all we did was do interviews on our patients..there was no patient care involved. And the class was pretty interesting so It wasnt too bad studying for the class either. Peds was harder for me because there was a lot of material. The clinical wasnt bad but for class we had to know A LOT and it took a lot of studying and dedication. So for ME..peds was the hardest. But for many of my classmates..a lot of them thought OB was hard and some thought Psych was hard..so I think it really depends on what you like and what interests you. I also didnt like the regular adult rotations because I didnt find it interesting. I always knew I wanted to specialize in a certain area of nursing and not just be an adult nurse..so I never really liked those rotations..but they werent really hard..just boring for me lol

Im just so excited to be finished with Peds and ready to start my last semester of my senior year that I had to make a post about it lol. Even though I love children and the clinical for peds was really easy...the class itself was difficult. We had to pretty much read the book for everything because my teachers notes were not very helpful and she would give us sooo much material that we were responsible for. I ended up with a B+ so I cant complain..but there were days when after studying for 10 hours on a saturday that I got stressed, overwhelmed & exhausted with the class. Maybe it was just my professor..did anyone else find peds to be challenging?

Study Hard!!! Dont wait until the last minute to study for exams & quizes..take a little material at a time over a couple of weeks if you can Ask questions when you dont understand Study with a group of classmates..studying with other GOOD students can really help prepare you for tests and can help you in your weak areas There are times where you will be stressed..tired..exhausted & overwhelmed (trust me..im a senior going into my last semester). But remember you CAN do it and after a couple years it will all be worth it!

if anyone has anymore questions feel free to ask