Jacki, RN

When the midwives had people in labor the OB doctor on-call officially covered them, but did not have to remain in the hospital. The midwife, I believe, had the patient on Pitocin, which is unusual for a midwife. There was a bad shoulder dystocia that they could not deliver lady partslly. By the time the OB got there and did the section there was severe brain damage. The child ended up on a vent and I believe died a few weeks later. The group of MDs claimed them letting the midwives go had nothing to do with this event...but it was a little too coincidental. Hope that answers your question.

At my hospital, we did have midwives when I started...then experienced a sentinel event of one of their patients where the baby eventually died. They were all let go because the OBs did not want to cover them any longer. This is sort of sad because they were a nice alternative to the OBs. If you and your husband are mobile and adventerous maybe think about England. One of my coworkers who was a labor nurse recently moved to England with her family and was having a heck of a time finding a job because they staff their units with nurse midwives instead. Something to think about.

If anyone has any advice it would be much appreciated. My husband is an ICU nurse and a level II trauma center. He has been in the ICU for about 1.5 years and seemed really excited about it in the beginning and mostly now. He loves to help people who are victims of accidents and in need of help and such, however he has been having a really hard time emotionally dealing with all the drunk drivers that come in in critical condition or people that attempted suicide and missed, etc. He is getting very condescending about alcoholics, drug users and the nationalities of people that predominently use them in this area. It is getting really hard for me to handle and I know that he is getting burned out! Does anyone have any suggestions about how he can overcome this, if it gets better with time, etc.? Thanks, Jacki

Hi Ashley, First of all, do you know that you can get your RN in just two years at a tech school instead of wasting time on your LPN. I did not know that when I was in H.S. and so went the full 4 years and am now kind of regretting it. Associate Degree (2yrs) nurses have the same jobs as Bachelor Degree (4 yrs) nurses except for administration. They also make the same wages. Nursing entails a lot and it is dependent upon what kind of nurse you want to be. There are usually long hours on your feet and it is physically and emotionally demanding, but at the same time very emotionally rewarding and satisfying. It helped me tremendously to become a nursing assistant first. It was only a 3 month program through a local nursing home. I did it the summer between H.S. and college and it really helped me with my courses as well as got me more comfortable in the hospital environment and earned some money in school. If you have any more questions, please feel free to email me. Jacki

Hi Sarah, I have been an OB nurse for two years now, graduating from a University with a bachelors degree. First thing I want to tell you, because noone ever told me in high school, is that you can be an RN with just an associates degree (2-year degree from a tech school). For the most part bachelor's degrees (4 years) are only good for management. Both associate degree and bachelor degree RNs get paid the same wages and take the same boards...even if you want a bachelors degree at least you would be earning RN wages for the last two years of college. Also, it helped me immensly with school by becoming a nursing assistant. I took the class the summer after high school graduation and worked very part-time through college. You will find that the knowledge you acquire on the hospital floors will help you much with your studies and the RNs are always helpful and wanting to help you learn. Good luck with you future and let me know if you have any other questions. Jacki, R.N, B.S.N.