DrMissitRNfixit

100%!! Our Labor girls would have two inductions at most, which is rare, but it would be a slow roasting night in h*ll for them to have 2 active labors. ? (That’s when we all suck it up together.) You go girl! ?? Postpartum/ Couplet care is the way to go RUNBNursing!!!! ?

In 2020 and a nursing Shortage ??‍♀️ Good luck with your decision and either way you go-take plenty time for vacations and you-time! You’re there still helping in all of this craziness! Thank you! ?

I respect the heck out of you L & D girls. I circulate deliveries, input info, and wipe off/check out the baby if it doesn’t go STS in a delivery, but I am not responsible for that laboring patient. Whew..... we do it all in one room on our LDRP unit. I have done mommy & baby for 13 years, since graduation, and I love it. YES there’s not a ton of adrenaline associated, but you stay busy. It would definitely be a change in pace for you but I’ll be honest, as my life phases changed, I appreciated it more! Could you stay on PRN on L & D?

Hey girl! If you have the excitement and drive for Mommy & Baby, you will love it! I have done it for 13 years(since graduating), but I will tell you that I feel like I limited my skills. ( I have started working PRN on our gyn/breast Med/Surg Unit to increase my knowledge a bit!) Plus we help with delivery’s by wiping off the babies if they come to the warmer or inputing info into the computer/circulating. I work nights PRN and love it. That said, we have one tech M-F for our entire unit until midnight, and I often forget she is there. 5 couplets used to be our normal, but now we have 4. Our unit is a LDRP, so we get couplets passed off and on rare crazy nights, I’ve had maybe 7? You just have to laugh and say OK because you know the nurse handing off isn’t in any better shape. Our night crew is a good team Once you get a mom past the initial 4 hours with a lady partsl birth and 8-12hrs with a C-section, they’re “less busy”. It is definitely manageable, especially if you get a system down, establish a good rapport, and realize they enjoy your help, but they also want to bond with their new baby without someone over their should every hour. (it took me HAVING a child to realize this ??‍♀️). I PERSONALLY would not choose another area of nursing and feel blessed to get paid for what I do. I treat most of my patients like my friends and even on crazy nights, I feel like both the patients and I have had good nights.

I am a PP RN and have been for almost 13 years. I did L&D for 3 years and it was not for me. The awesome thing about nursing is that people with different strengths strive in areas where others may not and vice versa. If you are not feeling OB, I would say change it up. The above poster’s recommendation is a great one, L&D would be for you. You could also join a high risk OB team and transport if your facility offers it. It sounds like your background would make you an asset ? While I feel like my critical thinking skills and Med/Surg skills have peaced out, I can bust out 5 (while I’d rather not) couplet assessments & get them charted. I LOVE sitting and educating my new parents about their baby, answering questions and helping them understand what is going on with their post-baby body. The above poster is correct, it’s task-oriented & you are correct about the orders. They’re often copy-paste (at our hospital). I am a terrible preceptor because I have my system down-I don’t write anything down, that’s what the report sheets for! ? To each their own, but life is too short to not love what you do! Good luck!!!’