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Yes! I was going to say - I've known several folks in nursing school who got jobs as CNAs, etc and once they got their foot in the door it was like "woah, this isn't what I thought it was going to be". A PCA at my hospital actually recently quit her job AND school because she realized nursing wasn't for her. Good way to get your feet wet!

Are you able to transfer within your own hospital? Sometimes it's easiest to move around where you already work. Otherwise work your connections .. get on LinkedIn or track people down on Facebook, etc to see if you know anyone with L&D connections. You might be surprised who's only a few degrees of separation away! Having someone down as a reference or a referral can help give you that extra push. Keep your chin up! Good luck!

Congrats! And good luck! I'm also a trained doula, in an accelerated nursing program. And I recently accepted a position as a PCA // scrub tech on an L&D floor. Follow your dreams and work hard, and the doors will just keep opening!

I'm sorry if I came off as feeling "cool" but I literally said repeatedly that this keeps me up at night. I'm well aware of the amount of debt I'm in and know exactly where I stand financially. I'm looking for advice, not to be patronized.

So 2012 I graduated with my BA in Speech Pathology, got into grad school, but decided that WASN'T what I wanted to do. Spent two years "finding myself" and not paying back any of my debt. Mistake? Probably, but it was pretty cool. Anyway, last year I finally decided to go back to school for nursing. So now I'm projected to graduate from a BSN/RN accelerated program in August 2017 with about $80k in debt. A lot of money? Yeah, I know. But there's absolutely nothing I can do about that now, that's just my number. But it's a worry and a burden and something that literally keeps me up at night. I work as a PCA at a hospital that is most likely willing to hire me on after graduation [already had a conversation with the nurse manager] and I love nursing so much, I wouldn't change my decision for the world. But does anyone have advice on how to cope with debt? Especially while you're in school and can't do much about it? I'm sure that after graduation I'll be able to figure out a financial plan to pay everything back, but for now I'm just always vaguely terrified.

Hello! I'm currently in nursing school and have been working as a PCA/CNA on a med/surg unit. It's been wonderful experience, but I plan to pursue a career as a CNM and am always looking for L&D or postpartum experience. Well! I've finally been called in for an interview as an "OB Care Associate" at a local hospital's L&D floor. Based on the description given, it sounds like a PCA position with a different name. I'm so nervous and excited :) Does anyone have any advice for the interview? Like general advice of what it's like to work in a birthing center, what sorts of roles a CNA might play, experience or knowledge they might be looking for? I am in the process of getting a doula certification and have the hospital // nursing school experience, but I've never spent much time in L&D or postpartum so I want to be prepared. Thanks all!