DeborahK

Do you use a Maternal Newborn textbook that you love? I teach Maternal Newborn Nursing at a state college BSN program and we're considering changing textbooks because our current text is too detailed for undergraduates (one of the instructors used this text in midwifery school). The students are overwhelmed with information and don't know how to determine what's most important for them to learn. We're looking for a better text--one that is neither too detailed nor too basic. Ideally it would also incoporate case studies and a focus on nursing care for each topic, as well as the background information and facts on each topic. Thanks for any advice.

I'm a clinical instructor and I want to hear from nursing students--what is the most inspiring thing we could do for the nursing students on their last clinical day of a rotation? I had a great group of students and I want to send them out flying high, feeling good about themselves as future nurses and feeling like a cohesive group. What do you wish your instructors would do?

If you are going to nursing school specifically to become a CNM (as I did), you don't necessarily have to get a job on labor & delivery when you graduate since some midwifery schools will take you straight out of nursing school. If you are willing & able to relocate, you could also go to one of the schools that combine nursing and midwifery training. If you are accepted to one of these schools, you earn your BSN and then move directly into the midwifery program. If you can't relocate, just start. You never know what the job market will be when you finish, as nursing shortages come and go. If, when you graduate, you can't get a labor & delivery job, you can seek another related job, such as in women's health in an OB office or community health center, as a maternal-child health visiting nurse, or in a NICU. Good luck!

Are you doomed in what way? Doomed not to be offered another position? (You already were, right?) Doomed not to get past it emotionally? (That's in your hands--learn from it what you DON'T want in a nursing position.) If it comes up in an interview, practice an honest but simple and non-blaming explanation, such as "I wasn't able to get the orientation I needed as a new grad on that floor, in part because they had a large turnover of staff while I was orienting. However, I'm not a new grad anymore, and these are the skills I can offer you..."

I am wondering if part of your angst in thinking about your next job (and the one you were fired from) is the idea that in-patient nursing is somehow more real nursing than a day surgery job or other out-patient roles. The higher the stress and acuity, the more real it feels to a lot of nurses. But that setting isn't a good fit for some people's personalities. We also need excellent nurses in clinics, visiting nurse jobs, school nursing, Early Intervention, diabetes education programs, etc--these primary care and preventative nursing roles combine care, teaching, program development, and call on a very different set of skills than acute care nursing. Different skills, not lesser ones. And fostering health--preventing illness--is every bit as valuable as fixing a medical problem once it hits. True, these jobs pay less, but if you can support yourself comfortably on your salary, why take a job that will stress you out and make you feel inadequate just because it pays better? Ask yourself what you like most in your current job, and what skills you most enjoy using, and then start looking for other positions that will be a good fit for you in those ways.

That sounds interesting! Can you tell me more about your work with umbilical stem cell preservation? Who employs you? What does the job entail? Do you travel from hospital to hospital giving in-service presentations, or what exactly? Are there public umbilical cord blood banks yet, or only self-pay banks?

What kind of consulting do you have in mind? I am not interested in starting my own business--are there consultant "pools," where someone else does the marketing and identifies the need and then matches up consultants where needed?

I loved it for many years, but just eventually got tired of it. I'm not alone--the average professional lifespan for midwives is 10 years. It's hard work, physically and emotionally (and politically, in many settings). That's not to encourage you from going for it. For many years I couldn't imagine doing anything else!

I've been a nurse-midwife for many years, and am ready for an entirely new career direction within nursing, outside a hospital setting. Any suggestions for great, unusual nursing jobs? My past experience has also included HIV nursing here and in Africa, research, home health, and early intervention (kids 0-3). The part of nursing that I like most is patient education and empowerment, as well as working with families. I'm a strong writer and I like continually learning new things. Have you had a great nursing job that I should consider?

I don't know about the legalities of your scope of practice, but at the hospital where I work, only the midwives and doctors insert IUPCs and FSEs. However, the technical skill is not difficult to learn, if you are permitted to do it by your scope of practice.

After getting your BSN, you will need to do 1-2 more years to become a nurse-midwife. Most programs are now 2 years long and grant a master's degree. You may be able to help finance this with financial aid from the school, and by getting a job in an underserved area after you graduate, you may be eligible for loan repayment through state or federal loan repayment programs.