Rvrgrl

Hi, I have worked L&D for 18 yrs. I have trained many new grads and have been there myself. My stomach in knots the first 6months then got progressively better over the next 6months. Total 1yr. to feel comfortable and like hey I've got this. It's hard to adjust to a new setting, new faces, etc. you need to get your time-management down. Have a piece of paper (your brain) on the first paper(s) have your pt info and on an attached piece of paper, have a timeline 09-10-11-12 etc. and next to each hour put your meds/procedures/v.s that are due with a box to check when you complete them. It helps a lot so you don't miss anything :) also you can set alarms on your phone as reminders. Do this quickly right after report before seeing your pt's after this you may get so wrapped up in stuff that you might not hv time. please PM me if I can be of any help w/questions etc. Hang in there, trust me it does get better. I remember those days of hearing decels in my sleep. That lasted only a few months . I remember sleeping until 2pm after getting home at 8:30pm. It takes a bit to get used to the shifts. Don't worry you got this! 90 miles is a lot!!! Can I ask where you live? I drive 50 and that's hard!

Hi curious where you are located? I am in CA and after 18 yrs., I am leaving the hospital arena for the exact reasons you have stated above. It's like you are reading my mind. Just my opinion and what I did: If you apply for something out of the hospital setting just keep it simple and on your app where it asks 'reason for leaving" just write "looking to vier away from acute care setting" and say the same in any interviews. They may ask in an interview what you dislike most about the hospital/acute care setting so be prepared with a nice answer that doesn't look like complaining :) What area are you in?

Hi...it's been awhile. Curious did you stay in PP or move to L&D?

Nice to have to choose bet 2 job offers rather than none huh:) Welcome to the nursing shortage lol. I started out on Tele, speaking from my own experience, I was there for 4 months before offered an L and D position, and although I gained a ton of skills and knowledge in a short amount of time, I couldn't wait to get out of tele. Now L and D is a different kind of stress, but at the same time just a handful of meds you have to know vs. a plethora of them. It can be like ICU and disneyland all wrapped up in one if you are at a high-risk busy hospital. It really depends where your love is. I've been in L and D now for 16 yrs. and never looked back. There are a ton of registry positions (paying extremely high rates I might add) for L and D positions. I get calls weekly. Look on Indeed.com and you will see alot of open positions for L&D (at least in CA). Postpartum positions not so much I don't think. Good luck! My suggestion: go where your heart is:)