all4babies

Agree - inappropriate, especially the touching.

I too, had trouble at first getting the cervical check. One doc told me to feel for what feels like the edge of a shirt collar - that helped some. Most of what the experienced nurses told me helped most, that being to take my time. I was so afraid to hurt the pt and embarrassed it was taking so long for me to check, that I would quit before finding the cervix. When you think about it, it's worse to be checked again and again, than to just take your time and get it right then. Try taking more time, find the "round protrusion w/an indentation in the center" for a non, or minimally dialated cervix. If the cervix is dialated, take your time and find the "hole" and feel all the way around the inside until you have completed the circle, then spread your two fingers, if possible. After checking, compare the width you believe the fingers spread with a dilitation chart. That's how I learned finally and like I said - take your time. Remember of course, this only covers the dilitation. You will get it - it just takes time and experience. :)

My story is similar - second career thing. Just love it. Worked as a nurse tech (gopher) while in nursing school. I was "unit specific" to ob in a busy hospital. I learned so much doing that - the pay was poor but the experience invaluable. As a side note, I went back to school to be a nurse but thought my specialty would be on the cancer unit. When I went through the l&d clinicals at school, it just clicked and I couldn't get enough of it. Still love it - most days. You must make up your mind that you really want this badly to go through the school and don't give up. Keep in mind the end result! Go for it!! The payoff is great in alot of different ways.

I've had the same thoughts as you guys and heard the same things. Then I went to a seminar on legal issues in ob and ob charting - of course got scared silly after hearing all the horror stories. Anyway - the speaker's comment (she was a nurse and lawyer) was that if someone is going to sue, they are going to sue everyone and not even look to see if a particular defendant has insurance or not. She also said that they even list some defendants as Jane Doe "A", Jane Doe "B" etc, for those to be specifically named later, just in case they miss someone the first go round or if someone else's name comes out in the questioning phase. When I was a newer nurse (still consider myself new w/only 2 1/2yrs exp) I didn't have a great preceptor and looking back on it now, my charting really was bad. I'm not trying to put all blame on preceptor, but do think it had something to do with my poor charting at the time. Since then I've learned better. Of course, we had a bad outcome on one case right after my preceptorship ended so that's where I'm going w/all this. It wasn't anyone's fault, a cord accident.

Just wondering - how many have been named defendant in lawsuit in which you had to pay personally for being the RN w/bad outcome even if bad outcome was not due to bad nursing. I work L&D and am really worried about a particular case. Thanks!