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I'm think they were referring to my comment about the NICU babies being "fun," not poking at your earlier comment, but I agree with you... In no way did I intend to say that I take joy in babies who are really sick, or that spending an entire night titrating drips or resuscitating is "fun," but I really loved working with babies and immensely enjoyed my time in the NICU. Maybe my word choice of "fun" was poor in that context and I apologize for that. I just loved my NICU babies.

As a WHNP student who has worked in both L&D and NICU, I would say if you are seriously considering WHNP in the future go with L&D. I absolutely loved working in the NICU, and the skills I gained there did help me as an OB nurse (and really, the NICU babies are just really fun :) ). But ultimately, my L&D experience has really set me ahead in my NP program compared to my other classmates who don't have experience in that field. In the long run it may not matter, but trust your gut. You may have time to dabble your feet in both areas! Best of luck to you :).

No problem!! Hopefully you find something that works for you! And by the way, Primary Children's is IHC :) it's just attached to the U's campus. It makes it convenient for all the high risk deliveries they do at University of Utah. Also Utah Valley Hospital (also IHC) in Utah County has a smaller PICU they opened last year on their peds unit that is an extension of Primary's. If you're going to be south of Salt Lake that might be an option. Best of luck though!! I'm sure it will all come together :)

yes, absolutely!

Hey! To be honest, my friends who obtained their degrees from WGU are still working the floor at the hospital, it seems they got their degree for the sake of having a degree. I kind of suspected the attitude of "it's cheap and flexible, why not." On the other hand, my friend who went to University of Utah is actually teaching as an adjunct faculty for BSN students while she still works the floor prn. She seems to really like teaching. You are right, Utah is one of the lowest paying states for nurses, it's terrible :/. Cost of living is rather high compared to what they pay nurses, but it depends on where you live. Salt Lake County is probably the priciest, I'm sure nothing compared to California though! :). Your schedule depends on where you work. I knew a few nurses who worked at University of Utah Hospital and they were on variable schedules, switching back and forth from days to nights. However they are the largest hospital in Utah and one of the only trauma 1 centers in the state, so if you like that kind of environment it might be a good fit. I worked for Intermountain Healthcare and actually had a really good experience. I felt like they valued their employees and I liked their approach to providing healthcare and being involved in the community. Intermountain has a bunch of hospitals along the Wasatch Front and in southern Utah, so you'd probably be able to find something no matter where you are. There are also several HCA hospitals if you have experience working with HCA.

Hey! I have friends that have done their masters in nursing ed at both those schools. Most of them chose WGU to be honest because of the flexibility in schedule and cheap tuition. I'm not sure who they're accredited by but accreditation would be my main concern. My friends that went to WGU had a very positive experience, though some complained the program was not as rigorous as they had hoped in terms of the new knowledge they gained (i.e. they felt it was a lot of self-guided busy work...but then again they were very busy plowing through assignments to get done sooner and decrease tuition cost). On the other hand, the friend that went to the U said her program was fairly rigorous, and even though it was mostly online, she was local and had access to the university library, professors and advisors in person, etc. She felt she had a lot of support. It is definitely more pricey though :/. I feel your pain, I worked in Utah once and the tuition stipend from the hospital was pitiful. One other thing you also might want to keep in mind is that WGU is pass/fail only, so if you plan on any other schooling after that degree, the pass/fail system might be frowned upon by other universities. But if this is your end goal it might be a great choice! Good luck in whatever you decide to do!

Hello! I too had a problem with this for my first few months on L&D. Honestly, it just takes practice :) and take opportunities to familiarize yourself with the lady partsl tissue and cervix on moms who have epidurals! The trickiest part of finding a cervix is when the cervix is totally closed. However, once it starts dilating you just need to find the opening of the os. Usually when a cervix was hard to find for me, it was because of a few things...a) the cervix was still very posterior (in which case curving your fingers up and around as you reach the back can help) b) the cervix was not midline (sometimes happens when the baby's head is transverse) and you have to feel off to the side to find it, or c) the baby's head was not engaged and in -4 station and it was just too high to reach. That said, I think the "approach" that worked most for me was to run my fingers along the posterior lady partsl wall (vs just going through the middle) and keep going until I hit cervix...and sometimes that meant that my fingers and hand had to really stretch. Sometimes if the cervix is very high and posterior, having the patient make a fist with both hands and put them under their hips can help adjust the pelvis and make it easier to find the cervix. That's my advice for what it's worth, it may not be that helpful. But maybe it will give you a few ideas. Don't give up, you'll get the hang of it!

Sorry this post is a little late, but hello! I am halfway through the WHNP program at Duke and I have LOVED it (I am finally starting my women's health classes and it's starting to feel real!). Overall, I have had a really good experience at Duke. The MSN program and NP programs at Duke are very highly ranked, but you won't find much about the WHNP program since it was just recently brought back to the university. I think the first set of grads from the WHNP program graduated just last December, but from what I hear they haven't had a problem findings jobs or passing boards. If the success of the other NP majors at Duke is predictive of the success of the WHNP program (which I assume it would, as the faculty are all the same!) then I would not be concerned at all. I have loved all my faculty and my experience at this school. I will say though that I have not met any nurses from any of the NP majors that have been nurses for less than two years at onset of the program. I don't say this to discourage you...it may be to your advantage in some ways because everything from undergrad will be fresh. I had to do a little more reviewing (especially in pharm!). I'm sure there are others in the program with little working experience that I have not met. If they say they are willing to admit fresh BSN grads, then they must be willing...I think if Duke admits you and invests in you they must believe you will succeed at their school, so I say give it a shot! Anyway, I definitely recommend the program. Good luck!! If you have any other questions feel free to ask!

Hello! I'm currently doing my WHNP online at Duke and it has been fabulous, but the price tag is not much cheaper than Georgetown if you're worried about cost. However you can complete it in 6 semesters full-time, or 8 semesters part-time. I also looked into University of Cincinnati's WHNP program which would have been much cheaper, and I was impressed by the correspondence I had with them. I had three co-workers that went through Cincinnati (FNP and CNM programs) and they all had a good experience. I have another co-worker who did her CNM with Frontier, and she liked it because it was cheap and she was also able to plow through her DNP a lot sooner than other schools. So I can't personally speak for any program other than my own but I have heard good things about University of Cincinnati and Frontier. My co-workers did have to find their own preceptors though, and Duke has a clinical placement office that does that for you. Best of luck!!

You mentioned some of the NICU nurses are leaving, will you have many experienced nurses on the floor that can perform these skills? I've worked at a few smaller hospitals with level IIb NICUs where the only doctor we ever had in house 24/7 was in the ED. When needed while waiting for the ped/neo to come in, we could put in the UVC's and we always had RT available if we needed an ET tube (though we practiced intubation also during NRP cert class, and could do that if necessary). Of course, the nurse in me would agree it would be nice to have a neo or nnp in house at all times, but in slow, lower acuity nurseries I don't know if it's necessary. I think the AAP even published at one point that level III and higher nurseries were defined as having continuously available personnel. All that said, my experience in the nursery has not exceeded level II care. I'm sure there are other nurses here who would have much better insight than I.

Yes, congratulations!!! This can be a hard area to get into! I'm an RN in mother/baby and peds and I LOVE it. All three units are a little bit different paced and provide different types of care...but still 10x's better than med/surg IMHO! If you like babies and little kids this is the place to be :). Best of luck to you!

Thank you for the feedback! This particular position requires 3 months of full-time training on L/D (including two weeks of OR circulation...I've already previously trained to do PACU as a M/B RN so I wouldn't have to do that) and then would require a minimum of 6 shifts a month. I would need ACLS-OB and fetal heart monitoring, but I do already have STABLE and NRP. I echo the thoughts that were shared...I would never feel comfortable on my own, but the director of the maternity center seems adamant to have me train L/D and then work in all three units (L/D, M/B and NICU). I mean, the extent of my experiences on Labor & Delivery have been the two hour recoveries, catching babies and watching strips from the NICU. Which is not really Labor & Delivery experience at all. So I'm not sure why the director of maternity services at this hospital is pushing so much for me to do labor. I don't want to lose this opportunity for a job (since there's not very many job opportunities in this area) but like has been mentioned...I totally don't feel like doing labor so infrequently is safe and would rather just do mom/baby and NICU

Alright OB friends, I need some advice. I'm currently working as a float nurse in m/b, peds, NICU, and gyn surgery...the facility I work at delivers about 450 babies a month. I've gotten to see quite a few things, it's a great place to improve clinically. I've loved it but I'm finding myself overwhelmed working full time while in grad school. A hospital I worked at a few years ago (a small community hospital) has offered me a prn position on L&D to help me have less hours while going to school. While this would be a great pace for me (prn) I'm nervous about losing clinical exposure to all the conditions I see at the hospital I currently work at. However, there's no way I could switch to prn there because I don't have enough seniority. Should I take the position? I've never done labor and delivery before and I'm wondering if anyone has any advice. I'm nervous about stepping into a whole new ballpark, I welcome all thoughts and suggestions!

Hi Trina! It took about 8-9 weeks before I heard back that I was admitted. Unfortunately I can't help you out with your questions because I decided to go with another program. One of my coworkers however is in UC's FNP program and said the pharm and stats class was pretty similar to what she did in undergrad. Best of luck to you!! Hope you hear back soon!

@Future thank you! I think I would go crazy if I had to wait until spring to find out about acceptance! Haha. The interview was not what I expected at all. I've heard that they are similar to job interviews but mine didn't seem that way. In fact, I thought I did pretty poorly but I guess they liked it! Are you applying to Duke as well?

One of my past coworkers is currently working on her CNM/WHNP through FNU. She got a job on L/D right after getting her ASN and worked for a year while finishing her BSN. She started right after her BSN graduation with only that one year of experience. Hopefully things work out for you guys the way you're hoping for!

Hope things go well for you as well! From what I understand fall applicants won't find out about interviews until the end of January. Best of luck! :)

WHNP. I was applying to the program for next fall when they informed me that they were still accepting applications for spring when I submitted my application. I interviewed within a few days and was just accepted yesterday to start in January. Talk about a whirlwind!

Hello everyone, I've been invited to interview for an NP (MSN) program at Duke and was elated until I saw that the interview is 45 minutes long!! I'm a little bit nervous about such a lengthy interview and whether or not I'll be adequately prepared. I tend to do well in job interviews, but I don't know how to prepare for a grad school interview vs a job interview, if there even is much of a difference. Of course I've done my research on Duke, my program of interest, and their faculty but any other tips or pointers out there? Anything is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

I got into maternity services straight out of school, so I don't have a lot of perspective on switching, but I would definitely get NRP and ACLS-OB certified if you can :) that will be a big boost on your resume for something you'll need in that area

Don't sweat it! I've been a mom/baby nurse at a few different hospitals and the most orientation their new grads got was 4-6 weeks max before working the floor on their own. It is a totally different type of nursing than what you'll see on med-surg...postpartum is a lot a lot a lot of teaching and breastfeeding help with a quick pt turnover, so there's much to be done in a short amount of time. And babies are not just little adults, but it looks like @NurseStorm gave you some very valuable information! You will love being in maternity services :) Just don't be afraid to ask questions, it's a whole different ballpark!

Like the others have mentioned, I have not heard of perinatal nurse practitioners, just perinatal clinical specialists (and even that I believe is not very common). There is no certification for PNNP. Some CNM programs have the option to double certify as a women's health nurse practitioner, perhaps that is what you had heard of. Really the biggest difference between the two is that CNM's do deliveries and WHNP's do not. They both are trained for women's health care throughout the lifespan (including perinatal and postpartum), but only those certified as nurse midwives can do deliveries so I imagine that a larger proportion of their patients fall into the perinatal category.

I too had trouble with the brachial pulse for a long time! I practiced finding it lots of times on willing friends and family :). It will definitely get better :). You have to start somewhere, we were all there at one point. I know it's hard (and you will want to cry, or puke, or drop an anvil on your foot before you have to leave for clinical if you are anything like me) but these experiences will make you a better nurse. Hang in there :) You are probably doing better than you think you are! It's no easy thing to be a student nurse. Keep your head up and keep working hard, you will get there!

Before I started nursing school, I wanted to work in the NICU. Going through rotations in school I found I most definitely did not like med/surg and still wanted to do NICU when I graduated. After working for a couple of years I landed a spot in the float pool for women/children services and actually working as a nurse in the NICU was not everything I had envisioned when I was there as a student nurse. But now I have found a true passion for women's health and am starting a WHNP program. You never know what life is going to throw at you! All of your experience is valuable, regardless of where you are :) you'll find your niche I'm sure!

Sorry this is a little late, but I agree with the above statement, ask lots and lots of questions! I've worked in well-baby and NICU and babies are seriously a whole different ballpark, they're not just miniature adult bodies. Get as much experience assessing normal infants as you can, it will be much easier to detect when something is not right...and trust your gut instinct. Babies will often compensate pretty well and you won't know what's wrong until they're really deteriorating (like term babies who get sepsis) if you aren't watching careful enough or if you write off abnormal symptoms for whatever reason. It never hurts to have someone else double check something you're not sure of, whether that's another nurse/charge nurse, RT, etc. Working with babies is the best thing I've ever done, you will love it :). Best of luck to you!