OBwonKnewbie

That I might have a learning disability? Lol. This was my last professor, and her test questions were very wordy and confusing. Prior to her comment, I made it through the entire program with honors. She just couldn't admit that maybe she was lousy at test writing. I wasn't the only one who struggled with her tests. I'll never forget that lunatic.

Life isn't fair. Had a similar discussion a couple days ago with another nurse about equal work and pay. She was prying and trying to find out my hourly rate, said we should make the same because we do the same work. I disagreed. I have been a nurse double the amount of time she has with double the amount of experiences. I have worked in multiple settings she has not worked in. I possess more skill than her. I'm also BSN trained while she is not. No way should she make what I do. To me, it's the same thing. Don't think you are doing the exact same job as a doctor. You are not medically trained, you are still a nurse. A well trained and highly skilled nurse, but none the less still a nurse deep down.

I couldn't agree with this more!!!

Take the dialysis job, you will likely kick yourself if you don't. This place you are working at sounds lousy. What decent employer calls and guilts an orientee to work their day off when you are already putting in 5 days a week plus some? I also agree that they sounded desperate in hiring, which is a bad sign. Your list of "wants" wasnt unreasonable, but employers always want to be the ones to say what will and won't happen. They were counting on you accepting the job and being scared to leave it right away, so they didn't think twice about lying because you would have never accepted. It's insulting these places think nurses are so dumb! If the dialysis job is serious about hiring you, I'd run. You are clearly in your 90 day period with the job you are at and that period is not only for your employer to decide if you are a good fit for them, but also if they are a good fit for you. I say run for the hills. PS...the rehab is counting on you to feel guilty when they call you on your days off. While its uncomfortable to say no, you are in your right to do so. You are not a slave at their beckon call. Staffing is their problem, not yours. That's why they have DONs and ADONs. The ADON can go work the shortage, that's why they are paid bigger bucks. What would happen if you just didn't answer your phone on your day off?

Sorry, you may have seen some precipitous births, but there is so much more to know about OB. You are so humble. I can't imagine why your instructors weren't warm and fuzzy towards you in school...yep.....must have been the male thing...

I am just curious. .....what is the reason then that you can't hang blood with LR?

Let us know how your interview goes and if there are already any guys working on the unit! It is a great sign that the manager is wanting to interview you. The worst thing that could happen is that some patients may prefer a female, and then so what, you get a female nurse for them and you take care of the ones who don't mind, right?! Good luck!

We have several male OBs, but no male nurses. We had hired one, but he quit before his orientation was done. He was a good nurse, personable, and very professional with the patients. However, we did get a few patients pull us lady nurses aside and ask us if there were any female nurses available instead. A lot of first time moms, especially. And then of course some patients did not care he was male, or at least didnt object. I think he quit for personal reasons. He was the only guy I can think of, and even the older seasoned nurses have said they never worked with a male nurse before him. So my unit is all female, but not because my manager won't hire men. So let me make it clear that I am only speaking for me and no one else: I would be uncomfortable with a male as my OB nurse. I also know my husband wouldn't like it. I just think the care a nurse gives is just so much more personal than the docs (checking episiotomy stitches, helping breastfeed) and I would not feel relaxed, even if the male nurse were completely professional. Again, only speaking for me. I think there is something about having a female nurse who could relate to the experience that I find more comforting. I think NICU is a great position. You said you love newborns, and you actually get to interact a great deal with the new mom's and provide them with lots of education. Hope your interview goes well, and maybe the unit will have male nurses and that would be more encouraging. I say it doesn't hurt to try, you never know how it will go unless you do

So interesting, thank you for that information! We give epidurals so much that almost all of our patients delivery on their backs. It's a pet peeve of mine

Thanks for the responses! A couple nurses have had patients with it so far and they really like it and feel it has been effective. Our IV meds are demerol and phenergan, which I'm not a fan of at all. I was just curious about other facilities methods of pain relief

Not yet, I am actually still at work now. I guess there are not many hospitals in the US that do, so I thought it would be interesting to reach out and see. If anyone else knows about it

Does your facility use Nitrous Oxide for labor pain in place of an epidural? I know this is popular in Europe. My hospital is going to start using it, and I am curious what others' experiences have been. Also, what IV medications do you use to manage labor pains?

What!? Who talks to other people they don't even know like this, like it is normal!?

Is this ED looking to hire RNs right now as well? When I graduated school (before boards) I was hired as a nurse aide and promised the RN position as soon as I had my license. I worked as a nurse side for about 2 months and then when I let my boss know I had passed my boards, she switched my title to RN the next day and sent me to the new RN hospital orientation. It does happen sometimes, feel the employer out. I would think a couple of months as a nurse aide would be beneficial to the employer in deciding if they want to hire you as a nurse or not?

If you have the option to do so, I would skip the ADN program and enter the full BSN program. The BSN will open up many doors for you to practice as a nurse and many colleges have online or part time MSN programs that fit the working nurse's schedule. A general MSN degree with no specialty is not a degree a lot of nurses go for because it doesnt open as many doors as a specialty MSN. Likewise, I can say with a good amount of confidence that the MSN schooling will probably not be as easily understood or applied without nursing experience. If you are going to get the degree then you want to know what you are doing. Experience is key in nursing, because only so much can be learned from a textbook.