peeweedelivery

Hello friends, I am the manager of OB/MS units at my CAH. I am finishing my MSN in leadership and management. I am considering doing my DNP, but I am curious to know if a DNP would make a difference for promotions, or if my MSN is sufficient for promotions to CNO/CNE and beyond?? Side note; there are very few managers with an MSN at my facility. thx!!

This is great advice, can you give an example of the velvet hammer? thx!!

Hi!! I have been a labor n delivery nurse for 17 years. I have an MSN in nursing leadership and management, but what I really want is to be a CNM. Does anyone know what the best pathway would be to go from MSN to CNM?

I don’t understand why you are shooting yourself in your own foot?!!? Why aren’t you willing to try? Even if it takes you several attempts, as an OB manager, I would be impressed if a candidate tried over and over to work on my unit, and quite frankly, I would be put off if a candidate gave up so easily. Labor n delivery typically has very strong willed nurses who are expected to advocate for their patients (which you should do no matter what nursing specialty), so I would say, go for it!! But try to work on some confidence, maybe do volunteer work on the unit?

I am an experienced RN/labor and delivery. I don't have a Washington license, but I hold an active license in many other states. I applied for a travel job in Washington because the recruiter said he had been told that they would let me work on my Idaho license; not true. Washington at this time will not allow you to come work for them on another states license.

The NICHD guidelines are very clear. This is a prolonged, only a prolonged. It definitely has a late component, but the definitions are clear, and this is a perfect definition of a prolonged, regardless of where it started.

I want to tell you all good luck! I did Salem Hospitals labor n delivery new grad internship about 11 years ago. It was very, very good!! SH is a great place to work!!

First of all...CONGRATULATIONS!!! You will love L&D....after the initial learning curve. We have the happiest days in the hospital but the saddest days as well. L&D is physically very, very difficult, emotionally demanding, and mentally challenging; every single shift. You will learn and grow as a nurse more than you ever thought possible, there is a reason it's difficult to get hired on in this unit!! Having said all that, there is a steep learning curve and you will never know everything and just when you think you have seen it all, you see something you didn't think existed. Lol!!! As for books to help give you a good start, I would recommend getting a STABLE manual from the hospital library. STABLE is great!! I think it does a great job of explaining how to stablize the baby, but the physiology behind it will tie into your fetal monitoring in a way that will help guide your interventions during labor and the immediate recovery period. Also, get a basic EFM book, like the beginning AWHONN electronic fetal monitoring book. "What to expect when...." is a fun book, but it really won't help the nursing aspect for you. Reading through this forum here will give you a good idea of the job and what to expect as well. If you don't have NRP, get that manual first. Lol...I should have said that first. So, I would recommend 1) NRP 2) EFM 3) STABLE CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN!! Keep us posted on how it all goes!!

FREEDOM Healthcare. Ask for Crystal Lavato. I travelled with AYA and had bad experiences. FREEDOM is fabulous!! Crystal will hustle and attempt to get you higher pay and anything else you request. They are organized and friendly and try to arrange everything so it's close to you. If you do contact her please PM me so I can give you my name as a referral. Good luck! I love travel nursing.

Hi all, I am considering a travel assignment in Alaska. I have lived there before, in fact I graduated from nursing school in anchorage so I know what to expect as far as living there. My question is regarding travel pay for labor and delivery. Has anyone traveled there? What is an appropriate hourly rate without the housing stipend? This will be my third travel assignment and I am starting to feel like my agency is not paying me well. I also need to always fork out the fees for licensure, travel, endorsements...etc then wait two weeks for reimbursement. I'm trying to budget all that....and I'm also talking with two other agencies to compare. But the bottom line is I want to hear what a good hourly rate is for the anchorage area and for the bush. My recruiter told me of a job in Kodiak and one in Ketchikan. Neither place appeals to me so I'm holding out for closer to Anchorage. I didn't even bother asking her what the hourly rate is. I have also noticed with my agency that I am offered "X" for hourly pay but if I push back a little they will counter offer with a better "XY" hourly pay offer or reimbursement.. Is this normal? Or should I expect them to pay well with the first quote? Any help would be very appreciated.

I have to ditto all these posts here. We also assign this patient as 1:1, so that the family has one nurse the entire shift and the nurse can devote all the time needed to taking care of the family, baby and paperwork. There is a lot of paperwork. Something I wanted to add was that sometimes we do cry, and sometimes with he patient. Some of my most tender nursing experiences have been when I've sat with a grieving mother and cried with her. I also cry on the way home and sometimes cry myself to sleep. Having said that, I feel that taking care of a family who lost their baby has given me opportunities to make the biggest difference in someone's life, to be there and help someone through one of the hardest parts of their lives. When a family heads to the hospital to have a baby, the expectation is that they WILL leave with a baby, so any thing the nurse does is basically expected as part of the whole package and birth experience. However, in my view, when they come to have a baby (or discover their baby died at any gestation), the nursing care they receive during their tragedy will set the tone for their grieving, and the momentos offered by the nurse are the only tangible things they will have from their baby to take home, the compassion given to them at that time will forever be appreciated...perhaps to a more intense level than if they came, had their baby as expected and took it home.

No! Not necessary...I've run pit, mag, abx, insulin and IV push meds in one line!! I always call pharmacy to make sure the meds are all comparable and make a note in the chart verifying that I called and who confirmed the safety. Running two lines is unnecessary stress to the patient...IMHO. :-)

We don't have peppermint oil but we do have peppermint tea. On rare occasion when one of my newly delivered moms can't void, I will make two cups of hot peppermint tea, one for the urine hat, and one for her to sip on in the bathroom (or just before getting up to the bathroom). I have had very good luck with this technique.

Hi!Ok I graduated nursing school in 2006 and moved out of state to take a L&D job knowing full well I intended to go into midwifery. I have worked here since then. I applied to Frontier 3 yrs ago, (their bridge program since I had an ADN) and I am now in my 3rd and final year. I will graduate next spring and I plan on moving again to a federally qualified health shortage area or Indian health services; you can get all your loans paid back that way. I have been working and doing school full time and I have 5 kids. One of the replies told you that you don't necessarily need labor experience to get accepted to a CNM program and that is true!! I have several class mates with no labor experience. The program is hard....very hard....but doable. There are also many opportunities for preceptorships in the Portland area, so that's encouraging. Do you have Abe more specific questions I could answer?

Hi! I live in oregon and work at Salem hospital. I am a labor nurse there and also a CNM student at Frontier. PM me and I may be able to help.....

Hi there!I am also a Frontier student but I live in Oregon. However, I have a couple of friends in my class who live in Florida and have connections. PM me @ [email protected] if you are interested in their contact info.Good luck! You are at the light at the end of the tunnel!!

I've never heard of an associates in midwifery, is this a nursing program? Could you give a little more info about your program and how you earn a CNM? Thanks!!

Hi mommy2boysaz! Thank you so much! Those were my thoughts as well but I wanted to make sure I was accurate in my decisions to forgo the RNC. I am actually already heading a study in our antepartum unit that I developed myself and she loves it, so I figured that should suffice for "being involved" on developing EBP guidelines at our hospital. Thank you for your advice! I will continue to politely decline the invites to participate with RNC.Ps....I've looked at CNM jobs with IHS in AZ, are you familiar with any of them?

What is required to get your facility approved? And if it is approved do you still need a site score?

Hi fellow nurse friends.I have a quick question. I am in my last few months of my midwifery program which I am doing full time, and I work full time and I have 5 kids. My L&d nurse manager is pushing me to do L&D RNC, and/or APEX project. Needless to say my days are already very busy without adding anything else. So my question: Do those awards make any difference for me long term in landing a CNM job after I graduate? My feeling is that if I planned to remain a staff nurse then sure, but I don't feel the extra stress is benificial to me at all.Thoughts???

Josh, I really like what I see!! Next couple of questions: A: What is the demand like for midwives? B: Are there only so many accepted per year? C: How do they work the hiring process? D: How long does it take to make rank? E: Would I be able to sign up while I am still finishing school? Or do I need to wrap this up before taking that plunge? Thanks again so much.

A few questions: I am currently finishing a MSN/CNM program, I am 45 and I saw on the website that I could join up until I was 48 with no mention of a waiver. I was a military wife for 15 years so I am very familiar with military bearing, courtesies, customs and lifestyle, and might I add, I LOVED IT!!. A: Is it true that they take a MSN/CNM up until the age of 48? B: What kind of sign on bonus and loan repayment options would there be in my position? C: What kind of options for choice of duty station? D: What rank would I have entering as a CNM (I have 6 years of RN L&D experience right now). Those are the immediate questions, the rest depends on the answers....lol Thank you for your willingess to jump on here and answer questions for us, and thank you especially for your service.

:redbeathe YEAH!!! I am sooo happy for you! I also feel that OB is my calling. That is why I went back to school to be a midwife. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I graduated from nursing school in Alaska, and moved my family down here (5 kids) to take a job 2500 miles away because they had an incredible OB internship (2006), and they were high volume/high risk. All my fellow nursing students said I wouldn't get OB right out of school, they were wrong and I have had no regrets. I love it!! Good for you!! :heartbeat

Thank you all for the thoughtful posts. I feel much better about my decision to enforce policy. Having read everything, and given much thought to the matter, I would probably do the same thing again. If my patients father (since my patient is mom and baby) still insisted in carrying the baby, I will call the charge and ask her to inform the pt about the policy, and have HER write a note about what happened...I would feel better about it if I had some sort of back up. The bottom line is MY LICENSE, I am not willing to fry over some Jerk...and...yes, he was very abusive. No, a safety concern is not the same as refusing a procedure or an aspirin!! If there had been water on the floor, and he fell...or if someone had opend a door on him, or run into him...this choice guy would have been the first to sue!! Not worth it to me. Thanks again, I am feeling much better. And, it's nice to know that my NM will NOT support me, or the other nurses for that matter.

Many years ago before I became an L&D nurse (now in a midwife program at 44 yrs old) I attended my first birth of a friend who had a still born baby. It was a heart wrenching experience. But I remember how compassionate the nurse was and how she handled that situation. I have always wish I could go back and thank her somehow. Now, fast forward many years and I am a nurse, when I work with patients who have lost their babies (still born or otherwise) I really feel that I can be compassionate on a different level. Having been through that very personal experience gave me something to draw on that some other nurses may not have. All the experiences we are given are given to us to help us grow and learn and understand life and those around us on a different level. Because you have walked the path that so many others are walking and will one day walk....gives you a unique perspective that they will need to have, they will need someone that can really understand all the feelings and emotions that go along with the challenge of cancer, to them and their famiies. I give you HUGE KUDOS!!! Do it, and don't look back!! Best of luck to you, this is an awesome forum with many people who will be your biggest cheerleaders!! M in OR