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I got my first L&D job as a new grad! I was blessed to know someone who recommended me to the manager since I had worked at a different hospital during nursing school as an OB scrub tech. Have been in OB for 23 years now (have done everything b...

I've loved all my nursing jobs except for the last one. It was at a hospice agency and was truly a miserable job. I worked 8:30-5 M-F, then was on call every night and weekend, had to go out to do admissions or dealth visits at any time of day or n...

I work at a hospital that has in-house anesthesia, but one night we couldn't find him when we needed to do a stat section. We paged, called, went to call room, etc. but no luck. Doc had to start using a local and it was terrifying for everyone. Th...

I worked with a male L&D nurse who was a traveler. He stayed on our unit for 6 months and was a fabulous nurse. The patients loved him. He taught me alot and was really fun to work with. Haven't seen any others since, though.

I totally agree. Each place has it's benefits and risks. Every case is different and should be evaluated for where is the safest place to deliver. Some midwives (lay or CNM) are better than others. I had 3 fantastic home births with lay midwives ...

That's my experience too. If a mom has an epidural for a long time, then repeated straight caths can introduce as much or more infection than just one insertion of a Foley.

I thought the OB Inpatient certification exam was harder than the boards! I did very well and passed, but I had worked for 3 yrs in L&D in a high risk unit and still found it to be tough. I suggest waiting until you have worked in L&D for a...

I hated using Cytotec. It usually caused ctx to be too strong and, unlike Pit, you couldn't decrease it. I found it to be very unpredictable - worked fine for some, but slammed others. Plus, it's so hard to insert. It always wanted to stick to the gl...

I saw it twice in 16 years of doing L&D. Very scary.

Would you hiring managers consider the "terminated" situation different if you saw that the applicant had worked several jobs since their termination? Personally, I would think that if other employers hired the applicant since the termination and ev...

I've been where you are (many years ago) and reacted the same way. Be very careful - you may end up making enemies who will come back to haunt you down the road. Never burn your bridges; nursing can be very political and it's best to stay out of it...

i did 2 months of training and it took between 1-2 yrs before i really felt like an "expert" at the job. it was a big learning curve because this is all about business and insurance. a totally different ballgame from nursing. but i learned it and ...

The RN's always drew cord blood where I worked.

As a mother, I had both home and hospital births. I also worked for many years with a home birth service. As a nurse, I worked in an L&D where we had every type of birth - from "home-like" to very high risk. I supported whatever the mother wanted...

If I find that the clinical I receive from the facility doesn't meet criteria for the guidelines we use (Milliman and Interqual), then I first call the facility CM back and ask if they have anymore clinical or anything more pertinent that I can use t...

i don't think this is necessarily true. i had no experience in cm, dm, or um when i answered an ad for a case manager. i did have 16 yrs of clinical nursing experience, but nothing in insurance or business. i was trained on-site for 6 wks, then be...

In the many years that I worked in L&D, we had only one travel nurse and it was a male. At first the staff was a bit surprised, as no one had ever heard of a male L&D nurse. But he turned out to be a wonderful nurse and taught me a "trick" ...

yeh, that's one of the hardest things to learn to do as an l&d nurse - be sure the doc doesn't arrive too early or too late. sure would be nice if they gave us a crystal ball during orientation! i eventually learned to sense when it was the "ri...

First, you don't have rounds in L&D like on med/surg floors. One doctor from each practice will usually stop by the hospital each day to see postpartum and antepartum patients and will stop by L&D if any patients from their practice are ther...

I look very professional and have 2 certifications in my area. I've applied for 11 hospital clinical positions in my field (with over 20 yrs experience) and have had just 3 interviews and no job offers. I finally took the only position I've been of...

That wouldn't be hard to do - I used FM's for 16 years and still do EFM CEU's to keep up my Inpatient OB certification. In my area, most hospitals are now requiring EFM certification be done soon after being hired in L&D.

I have 16 years in L&D and High Risk Antepartum, as well as some postpartum, experience. I have also been an OB case manager for 5 yrs. and an OB and med/surg nursing educator for 5 years. I'm interested in trying travel nursing, even if it's ...

I agree! When I got my last job, all the interviews were done by phone. It certainly cuts out discrimination based on gray hair, body size, ugly face, frumpy clothes, etc. You get hired based on your credentials, knowledge, experience, and ability t...

I have a BSN and teach nursing clinicals. I'm just called the "Nursing Instructor." What else would you need to be called?

The hospital where I worked got computerized charting over 15 years ago and I used it for about 10 years. Not much has changed in L&D since I left, so I don't think it would be too hard to get back in. I may get a contingent job to "freshen up"...