LexiRN2

You prove a very good point about nurses being pulled in too many directions which leads me to my next question... What is the nurse to patient ratio on a l&d unit? I don't expect my nurse to hold my hand through labor but it would be nice to know how readily available the nurses are if I do need something. Also, I 100% plan on having a birth plan. A lot of people think that you're setting yourself up for disappointment but if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. You have to set your own expectations and goals and try to follow through with them as much as possible. I don't want to end up being the difficult patient of the day and I certainly don't want to be labeled as one of those nurse-patients that won't let the nurse on duty do their job.

My city doesn't have any birthing centers. My OB practice typically has the midwives do deliveries as long as everything is going fine. I'll need to look up hospital policies and find out how much I'll be able to try and dictate some of these things. I've read up on the continuous monitoring and it definitely is not necessary, and as another person said, often leads to intervention that is not necessary. I'll be making a list of questions for my next dr appt.

I said I want to use methods other than the lithotomy position in my original posting

Thanks for the input! The only components of my birth plan so far are to not get any pain meds or epidural and be able to walk around to cope with the pain. I've heard of stories where women want the same and the minute they're admit to the l&d unit they're put on a continuous fetal monitor and can't walk around freely so then they pretty much have to get an epidural because they have no other way to ease the pain. Sounds like I need to discuss it with my OB and make sure that her group supports natural labor and delivery!

I'm curious to know what labor and delivery nurses honestly think of natural childbirth. When I say natural I'm referring to no epidural and alternative methods of pushing other than laying in bed with your legs in the stirrups. I am a nurse myself, but now that I am looking into different hospitals to deliver my first baby I just want to know what l&d nurses think of natural births. From a lot of things I've read online it sounds like the women who go in with a birth plan and want no meds to assist in the process end up leaving unhappy. Some say that the nurses don't respect their plans or that they feel they were "pushed" into getting an epidural or c-section. Just want to know everyone's thoughts, thanks!

If you go to a scrub store that sells stethoscopes they'll let you check out all of them and you can take a listen yourself to see what works for you.

The ohio board of nursing typically has your license number posted the next day if you've passed... hope that helps!

I agree! As a new grad myself, I felt nursing school wasted too much time on care plans that aren't used in hospitals anymore. Anyone making rules for nurses should be able to function at the bedside! It sounds harsh, but a lot of the newer nurses just aren't cut out to be nurses. I partly blame nursing schools for this... they advertise and tell anyone with a check that they can be a nurse. I went to school with many people who could maintain a 4.0 gpa but suck at bedside nursing. Most people come into nursing for the "wonderful paycheck" but it takes much more than motivation for a paycheck to do the job and do it good. For those who do go into nursing then later find that bedside nursing is not for them, like a few others have said, an insurance job or something else that is not a clinical position would be great!

I used a cheap stethoscope in nursing school because I often left them places. I waited until I started working to get a nice expensive littmann stethoscope. I did just fine with the cheap stethoscopes personally... and color doesn't really matter. My school gave us bp cuffs which were primarily used for practicing.

wecan11- I think you'll be fine! Everyone has their own opinions and experiences and it will be a great learning opportunity for you! At worst, if you don't like it you can always just find another job in a different area. That's the wonderful part of nursing, there's a ton of different areas/specialties that you can try! Good luck!

SDALPN is right about a lot of that, but most agencies will not send nurses new to home health to the hardest cases. She'll more than likely be sent to an "easier" case to start out and make sure that she's ready to handle the tougher kids. Very true about parents manipulating nurses and playing them against eachother though!

I used to work as an lpn in pediatric home health and personally its not an area that I prefer. I didn't like seeing sick kids first off. It just hurt me too much. But anyway, I would suggest being prepared to deal with parents that you will not always agree with, but make sure that you are able to separate your personal opinions from your professional judgment. Its very hard not to become attached with the child and family over time, but try not to cross the professional boundaries. Depending on the cases that you're on at times you may feel like a high paid babysitter, not every child is going to be on a vent or have some terrible condition. A big part of home health nursing is teaching! Be ready to assess the family's learning needs and teach them everything that they may need to know. Oh and also, trust is a big factor when you're suddenly working in someone's home. You may feel that the family is watching you or following you around at first but don't take it personal, they are only trying to protect their territory. And if you feel very uncomfortable on a case, NEVER be afraid to ask your agency to send you to another home.

Are you going to do visits or shift work?

I recently interviewed and the few tips that I can give are not to worry much about practicing interview questions because you don't want your answers to seem reheorificed, make sure that you give specific examples when asked questions like "tell me a situation when..." and just relax! Also, my interview questions focused on the fact that I'm a new grad so they asked questions about how I would handle a heavy workload and was behind (ask for help), what if I didn't know some sort of information (ask for help or look up the policy), and conflict resolution. Interviewers don't expect new grads to know everything, they teach you what they want you to know. Good luck!

CONGRATS!