RNnicu42

Interdisciplinary care and team work is so important during emergency situations, especially PPH. Have you heard of teamSTEPPS? Do some research on this. It is a program that helps staff learn to work together in emergency situations. During a PPH, RT, pharmacy, nurse supervisor, anesthesia, nurses, OB's, and scrub techs all play integral roles. teamSTEPPS is a program that helps all these groups come together and use a common language and pattern to make the situation go as smoothly as possible. It focuses a lot on communcation and level playing field. Emergency situations are high stress and scary but when all members of a team are able to come together and work towards a common goal, outcomes are usually positive.

I've worked 2 hospitals in CA in L/D. Both hospitals required L/D nurses to prep, circulate and recover. We have our own ORs and our own dedicated OB scrub techs. Some of the nurses are trained to scrub but most just circulate.

I work in a large teaching hosital. We have our own OB OR's and our own recovery rooms. Unless there are problems with extubation, we recover our own general c-sections, and we definitely recover all of our own regional c/s. ACLS is not required for our RN's but almost all of us have it because we do our own recoveries. Are patients are hooked up to 5 lead s/p c/s and BP, SpO2 monitor. We also have our own 24 hour OB anes.

The EFM course will definitely help. If an antepartum patient has a bleed and needs to be rushed to OR will you be the circulator in the OR. I work high risk perinatal and we care for antepartum patients who are chonic abruptors, placenta previa, di-di twins. All of these pts can results in a crash C-section. You will need to be prepared for this and have a plan in place if you will not be the one taking them to the OR.

I work at a large teaching hospital and we have a dedicated baby nurse in L/D. Most of us are trained as perinatal nurses so we rotate between L/D nurse, PP nurse, and baby nurse. We are trying to be a baby friendly hospital so we encourage rooming in together 24/7. Our LDR's all have warmers and resus equipment. The baby nurse attends the delivery and is responsible for stimulating, suctioning, warming, weighing, assessment, meds and banding. This is all done in the mom's room with as much as possible done while the baby is skin to skin with mom. Having a dedicated baby nurse works out really well for us and allows the L/D nurse to focus on caring for mom's instead of both mom/baby in the immedicate recovery period.

For scheduled C/S's and non-emergent C/S's, we always put foley in after anesthesia. There is no need to put mom through that when there is no urgency. If it is an urgent case that has time for a spinal, we will sometimes put it in before we move them into the OR. But most of our pt's already have epidurals in place and therefore already have foley's in place. I do not think there is any reason why the f/c should be put in before the spinal. It just makes the mother more uncomfortable and anxious.

I had a 6 mo orientation and after it was over I wished that I had been more aggresive about seizing opportunities to practice skills. Not just on my patients, but on other nurse's patients. There are so many skills that I was still learning and sometimes it is scary to mess up, especially on a pt that doesnt know you. My learning curve would have been improved if I had taken the opportunity to speak up and and ask other nurses if I could preform such and such task with them instead of just watching them. It's a scary journey but totally worth it.

I got electronic copies of my reference letters and then just attached them to all of my resumes. One of my professors felt better about giving me a hard copy, so I just scanned it into my computer and saved it as an electronic copy. They should all have a generic heading such as "To Whom It May Concern:". Yes, start getting letters now!! Some professors take a while to get them to you and need to be gently reminded. Get more than three if you can. That way you can review them and pick the best or just pick the ones the highlight the experience the particular residency program is looking for (i.e. med/surg preceptor for med/surg position). I don't know where you live, but I'm in CA and I did try applying to jobs before I graduated but none of the places I applied to would even consider my application until I was licensened. Good Luck

I got a job in a teaching hospital as my first acute care. I have been working at the hospital for about 10 months and I couldn't be happier. I really like working with the residents. I work night shift so having someone around 24/7 to consult with is great. Also, since it is a teaching hospital, it is very condusive to learning. I always feel comfortable asking questions, whether to my co-nurses or the residents. Also, since we are the largest hospital in the area we get some really sick patients which provides me well rounded experience. I cannot compare experiences because I have never worked in a smaller community hospital, but I can definitely reccomend a teaching hospital as a new grad. Good Luck!

Thanks for your reply GrnTea. I am a plane ride away, so chance for him to move closer and both keep our jobs. The reason he hasnt moved to where I am is because he knows that I want to come home. Even if we lived together and I kept my job, we would both be missing our friends, and family. We probably wouldn't last too long without moving back home. Also, the pay scale at home is a lot higher. I like your advice about bringing it up at my one year eval. That would at least give them a heads up. I will definitely stick it out for the entire year though. When job hunting, does anyone know at what the prospective employer contacts the previous employer? Thanks

I got the job of my dreams about 10 months ago. I had to relocate for the job and left my husband and my family behind. I am so thankful for the opportunity the hospital has given me but it is SO hard to be away. I really just want to move home. My question is, if I start applying for jobs back in my hometown, how do I approach my managers and at what point do I approach them. Will prospective employers contact my work for reference? I want to make sure I talk to my managers before they hear it from someone else that I want to leave. I feel guilty because the hospital has spent a lot of resources and time to train me, but I am just no happy being away. Any thoughts?

My first acute care RN job was a perinatal nurse (PP, L&D and antepartum). The only other nursing I did before this was home health flu clinics. It took my a year after graduating to land the job but I couldnt imagine myself working anywhere else. I have always known that maternal/child nursing was my place and even though I did apply to med/surg jobs, my passion for OB is what ultimately landed me my perinatal position. I have been in the position for 8 months and do not feel like I have missed out on anything. Why not start applying now?

Did anyone get hired into L&D or perinatal? I currently work at UC Irvine and I would like to transfer back to the bay area. How is the unit?

We are also ecouraged to preform leopolds at triage and when admitting a patient. It helps determine where exactly to put the doppler because you can feel the fetal back. We do not have to document that it was preformed, but it is expected.

I was recenetly hired onto a perinatal unit (L&D, post partum, antepartum) with 4 other new grads. One is a male. During our classes he does get asked frequently why he chose OB and his answer is always that he has the passion for this field. When talking to management, the reason they hired him over the other few males that applied was because he showed an unwavering confidence. This seems to be a theme among male perinatal nurses on my unit. Whether they are uncomfortable or not caring for women, they do not show it and always act confidently and professionally. I commend them for their confidence.