lpjohnso

Please check out this article where a seasoned Mother/Baby (Postpartum) RN breaks down her normal day shift AND night shift. Lots of great insight and advice when it comes to being a Maternal Newborn Nurse. She also discloses her pay and includes a PDF of a great report sheet for Mother-Baby. I wish you all of the BEST! https://purelypostpartum.com/what-postpartum-nurses-do-and-how-much-they-make/

My Kaiser background check for an RN position just cleared. It took 2 weeks and during that time I had to share past W2s, 1099s and paystubs. I was really surprised at how intense it was. They said they went back 7 years. My advise to you if you’re applying for Kaiser... make sure EVERYTHING on your application and resume is super accurate, and have the hard evidence to back it up!

Cmeg, what did you decide to do?!

You’re so welcome! Best of luck to you!

Congrats about getting the job! This article really goes into depth about being a postpartum nurse, including differences between the day shift and night shift in postpartum. I hope it helps! https://purelypostpartum.com/what-postpartum-nurses-do-and-how-much-they-make/

Hi there! The position is at Scripps, and unfortunately Scripps doesn’t hire someone into L&D without L&D experience. They don’t even hire new grads straight into L&D. New grads have to work 18 months in med/surg before being allowed to apply to the Transition program to be trained in L&D. I’m not sure how it’s done else where, but I think a lot of hospitals have transitional programs for their existing nurses. My department has hired and trained ER, Med/surg, and ICU nurses to L&D. My best advice to you would be to get hired in a hospital that has an L&D dept. Get your Fetal Heart Monitoring Certificate and your NRP certificate (both are extremely important when trying to show the L&D manager that you are eager!!). Once working in the hospital, contact the L&D manager and tell them how interested you are to work in L&D, and ask what you can do to be a competitive candidate. Also, keep applying to hospitals that have an L&D New Grad program! I think you can apply within 12 months of becoming an RN! I’m so sorry! I know how hard it is! Don’t give up!! It’ll happen one day if you just keep trying! Best of luck to you!

Have you had any luck yet? My LDRP department just opened a full-time night position. Let me know if you want to know more. ?

My advice to you is to apply for a New Grad Program in a NICU ASAP. As a new grad, I was hired as a NICU nurse, and stayed there for 2 years before I applied to Postpartum. All Postpartum units are thrilled to have a nurse with a background in NICU. If I hadn't had my experience in NICU, I know that I absolutely would not have gotten the postpartum job. I've been in postpartum for 9 years now, and I'm very grateful that I did some time in NICU to get me to where I am today. Good luck!

I'm so sorry to hear what you are going through. Please know you are not alone. Two books helped me tremendously. They saved me from being unemployed and holing myself up inside of my house and my mind. Finally helped me understand what I was going through and how to get through it. 'Hope and Help for your Nerves' by Claire Weekes. Hope and Help for Your Nerves: Claire Weekes: 86

Hello! I started working in the NICU as a new grad and was there for over 2 years. I loved it, and I couldn't imagine ever working with adults or doing anything else. I thought I had found my calling in life. That was until I moved to a new town and finding a NICU job was difficult. It forced me to consider postpartum nursing, which I do now, and have been doing for the past year. I thought I would HATE it. However, it turns out I have begun to love it more than NICU nursing and if I had the chance to go back I don't think I would. A huge difference for me at first was going from taking care of (at the most) 3 babies in the NICU, to taking care of up to 4 moms and 4 babies (aka-4 couplets) all at once in Postpartum. It definitely seems more challenging to have to be responsible for (and chart on) up to 8 patients at a time oppose to only 3. However, caring for less patients in the NICU can turn out to be even more work than more in postpartum because the NICU babies are sick and require a lot more intensive and acute care. In postpartum, you usually are not taking care of anyone who is sick, mom's are just recovering (there are definitely exceptions to that where moms have postpartum hemorrhage, etc. But, it is more rare). If a baby begins to get sick, they usually leave your care and get a ticket to the NICU. It is very rewarding to be that person who notices if the baby is not doing well or is getting sick and gets them to the proper treatment they need. In postpartum there is a lot of patient teaching regarding self care and baby care, but you also have to do a lot of teaching in the NICU. Mom's usually need a lot of help breastfeeding, which not all postpartum nurses enjoy helping with (it can be a very time consuming and frustrating experience), however, most L&D units now have lactation consultants to do that job for you. They are life savers! In a nutshell, I love working as a postpartum nurse and I would recommend it to anyone! It's amazing to work with fat, healthy babies in the happiest place to work in the hospital! PS-Like most hospitals, there is a typical preference for bachelor degree nurses, but we definitely hire associate degree nurses without any problem. I think that goes for all L&D and postpartum units. Good Luck!