rn4babies63

We draw it at the next 0500 draw following delivery.

We just adopted a policy that OB must be in house. Needless to say we don't do them. Small community hospital here.

When I was in nursing school, my OB rotation didn't phase me. It wasn't my favorite and I didn't have a yearning to be an OB nurse. At the time, nursing jobs were scarce and I just knew I had to take any job offered to me. A few months after passing my boards, I was called for an interview on a level 3 L&D. I got the job and after 17 years, I wouldn't consider any other area of nursing. I love what I do!

Transcutaneous bilirubin

I worked for Nurse Family Partnership for 7 years. I was an OB/L&D/Nursery nurse for 4 years prior to that and stayed casual at the hospital while working for NFP. I absolutely loved that job. Like monkeybug, I also took some things home with me. Unlike hospital nursing, you develop a relationship with these mothers. It also involves alot of teaching. It is very gratifying when you know you made a differance in a new mother's life.

They just increased our call from 24 to 36 hours in a four week period. Everyone is so burnt out! We are short staffed and frequently have call offs. The call nurse is supposed to just be for c-sections but is so frequently being used for understaffing that you're almost guaranteed to get called in.

I worked for NFP for 7 years and absolutely loved it! I took quite a pay cut to work for them. I have been an OB/L&D nurse for 16 years. I returned to the hospital because NFP is grant-based and at the time my husband was laid off and I needed the job security and higher pay at the hospital. I have been gone for 4 years now and alot of the girls still keep in touch with me. If I could afford it, I'd go back to it in a heartbeat!

Once you are oriented to L&D and scrub/circulate and comfortable with that, you can always orient to post/partum nursery. You should only need a week or two in PP and maybe longer in nursery. 6 months in L&D is a long time for orientation. We only give 8 weeks so you should be pretty comfortable at the end of your orientation and ready to learn a new area. If you feel that at the end of 12 weeks you are ready, you may want to discuss that with your director to let her know you're "ready". Remember, however the skills required for L&D/OB are much differant. Your assessment skills, foleys, and IV's are will be helpful but there is so much more to learn. A situation you may not encounter, you may have in the 4th or 5th month of your orientation (i.e. PP hemorrhage, demise, critical tracing......) You will be glad that you have encountered these things with a preceptor present. Scrub/circulate will take a little time as well. I think you are fortunate to be allowed such a long orientation. I know our nurses wish they had a longer one (we do too). Good luck!

I was hired into L&D 16 years ago as a new grad into a Level I trauma center. The hospital I currently work in has hired many new grads and just hired 3 new nurses that aren't new grads but are experienced in other areas. I know that our director is impressed by the applicants that show their interest to her. When there is an opening, go to her personallly with your application (even if you have to apply on-line). I know that we had someone that applied several times and the application never got to our director from HR. She never knew she applied! If you are able to take the course, I would do that, too. It certainly would be impressive that you have spent your spare time to express your interest in that area. Granted, OB experienced nurses usually trump anyone else but not everyone wants to work L&D. That's why our 3 new nurses got hired with no experience. However, alot depends on your particular hospital. My second job hospital WILL NOT hire anyone without experience in OB. Personally, I don't feel that their nurses are any better than the nurses we trained from the beginning. Good Luck and be patient!!

I was hired into L&D 16 years ago as a new grad into a Level I trauma center. The hospital I currently work in has hired many new grads and just hired 3 new nurses that aren't new grads but are experienced in other areas. I know that our director is impressed by the applicants that show their interest to her. When there is an opening, go to her personallly with your application (even if you have to apply on-line). I know that we had someone that applied several times and the application never got our director from HR. She never knew she applied! If you are able to take the course, I would do that, too. It certainly would be impressive that you have spent your spare time to express your interest in that area. Granted, OB experienced nurses usually trump anyone else but not everyone wants to work L&D. That's why our 3 new nurses got hired with no experience. However, alot depends on your particular hospital. My second job hospital WILL NOT hire anyone without experience in OB. Personally, I don't feel that their nurses are any better than the nurses we trained from the beginning. Good Luck and be patient!!

We once had a beautiful but nasty female OB. She degraded every nurse every chance she got. One day during a delivery, she decided not to wear a mask because the "VIP" patient's family wanted to videotape the delivery and she wanted to look her best. The patient, up in stirrups, pushing, suddenly sneezed and a large amount of urine came out, right into the doc's mouth (she was sitting at the perineum). As soon as she wiped it off, the patient sneezed again and got her again, right in the face! We had the hardest time containing our laughter as the patient didn't realize what happened. Needless to say, she wore her mask for every delivery after that!

We get paid time and a half for the 25th and Jan 1st (only if we work it) but they shorted our schedule by 4 hours those weeks so it wouldn't be any extra pay anyhow.

I don't know what area you are from, but where I'm at, almost all of the new nurses that we have hired only have an ADN. That's what most of the programs are around here. I only have an ADN and have never had a problem getting hired anywhere.

I work on OB at 2 hospitals. Both units are L&D/Postpartum/Nursery. At both, all nurses are crosstrained to work all units. I was hired into L&D 15 years ago with no med-surg experience. We hired 4 new grads several years ago with NO experience in anything and they all did very well. Many of our seasoned nurses have no med-surg either. Granted, med-surg would certainly be helpful but I think OB would more beneficial. I agree that any hospital would be thrilled to have someone willing to crosstrain to L&D. At our hospitals, we never know from one day to the next if we are going to be working L&D, postpartum or nursery. We also have to scrub and circulate for c-sections. There is alot of versatility in maternal/child nursing. Good luck in your decision!

I've had a recurring dream that I dropped a baby. I work L&D, PP, Nursery.

Job #1: We do approx 100 deliveries/month. Around 3.25/hr for call, required 24hrs call in 4 weeks, Job #2: 200 deliveries/month around $3.00/hr call, required 8 hrs/call in 4 weeks. Neither offer specialty pay.

Rescheduling the surgery is not an option. It is not elective. I've already delayed it 4 weeks. Why? I felt I was obligated to work out my schedule so not to put THEM in a bind by calling off. Ironic, huh?

My manager told me I was a very good, reliable employee and she'd be glad to hire me back if a position was available. However, I would lose all the raises I earned in the past 4 years. She also told me FMLA doesn't apply at their hospital since I am casual. It will be available to me at the full-time position.

They tell me no it does not. Casuals have no perks whatsoever. We don't even get premium pay. They just terminated another casual RN because she had surgery as well.

I have worked a second job at a casual position for 4 years. Our minimum requirement for casual status is 16 hours in a block of time (4 weeks) and 8 hours of call. I have always done at least that amount plus worked many extra hours when they called me desperate for extra help (I work another full-job). I recently found out that I have to have surgery and will be off approximately 4 weeks. I was told that I will be terminated because I won't be able to meet the min. requirements in that 4 week time period. I have worked so much extra for them this summer, sometimes working 7 days a week. Is this discrimination? While I realize that casual employees have no rights or benefits, I feel that I am being punished for suddenly having a medical issue. BTW, I have never called off in the 4 years I've worked for them either. 6 months of that was full-time. Do I have any recourse?

We give our Cytotec either 25mcg in the posterior fornix of the lady parts or 50 mcg po. I'm also baffled as to how anyone is crushing it and placing it into the lady parts. It's difficult enough to place 1/4 tablet without having it come back out onto your glove. We don't start Pitociin until 4 hours after a Cytotec dose. We've had good success with Cytotec and our nurses place it. We have to have a reactive 30 minute tracing before placing it then do vital signs every 15 min for 1 hour. We then do hourly vitals including FHR for the next 3 hours if the patient desires to walk. After the 4th hour, the pt is then reevaluated and then we may start the process all over again.

We are considering revising our postpartum pericare instructions for cost effectiveness. Currently we are instructing our patients to do the following: Wet 3 wipes and put antibacterial soap on them, wipe front to back x1 with each, rinse with peribottle, pat dry. Apply betadine three times a day. This is for vag deliveries as well as c/s's. In addition, the vag's use Dermoplast, hydrocortisone cream, tucks and sitz bath prn. The other hospital I work at simply instructs patients to rinse with peri bottle then Dermoplast, tucks and sitz prn. How does your hospital instruct your postpartum patients on pericare? I am going to take this information to our director so your feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

In the labor room: 1. Pitocin 2. Stadol 3. Cytotec 4. Nifedipine 5. Naropin Post partum: 1. Iron 2. Surfak 3. Percocet 4. Ibuprofen 5. Buprenex

I've been an L&D nurse for 14 years and still often seek advice on FHR tracings, exams, etc. Although I do feel confident, I am not arrogant to think that I know everything. It took me about a year to feel somewhat comfortable and by the 3rd year, much more so. Even after all this time, I still learn something new every day. I'm not afraid to ask the docs questions in order to further educate myself. Hang in there. It will all come together someday. As for calling the docs in for the deliveries, you'll get better at that as well. However, you can't predict nature and occasionally you will have the babies that just won't wait for him to come. Good luck!