LKH_RN

This was my first job out of school, it was simply "nursery" nurse. My duties were to attend lady partsl deliveries and c-sections. I admitted the babies, but I also took care of them for the duration of their stay. This meant breastfeeding teaching, CCHD and lab screenings, weights, assessments, and special care for sicker babies. Seeing as how you mentioned your OB clinical, I assume you are a nursing student and soon-to-be nurse. I hope I do not offend you, but I just want to share with you that I do not think this is a good first nursing job. As others have mentioned, many hospitals do "couplet care" (the L&D or postpartum nurse admits and cares for the baby). Some hospitals elect one nurse every shift to complete these tasks. However, hospitals with dedicated "nursery" positions are not typically couplet care facilities. Mine was not. This was incredibly challenging, as your patient load tends to be larger and your time management is challenged by the requests of the moms that truly belong to a postpartum nurse--not you (can't exactly leave patients hanging, whether they are yours or not!). In addition to well babies, you are typically also responsible for intermediate care babies (level 2 NICU). This means you may have a crappy delivery, meconium, suction, resuscitation, etc. but also have 4-5 other babies that need labs, breastfeeding teaching, and baths at the same time. You do not always see these sicker babies coming and this can leave you scrambling to re-organize. I don't know if you're interested in more critical babies, but if you are a well baby nurse in a smaller hospital you will most certainly have to start IVs, fluids, CPAP, and definitely resuscitation at some point in your career. These opportunities may not be abundant during your orientation period. Likewise, they don't tend to staff many well baby nursery nurses per shift. There may be 1-2 max. That means you might be working alone or with one other nurse (imagine all of that happening with just you scheduled as the nursery nurse). Your chance to soak up knowledge and get help from more skilled nurses will be limited if you are working alone. I feel like newborn nursery is limbo for new nurses. It's hard to get in as a new grad, but also hard to transition out if you stay too long and change your mind. My advice would be to select a speciality that allows you a chance to transition babies without it being your only job. Labor and delivery, postpartum, NICU (high risk deliveries!), etc. At least with these specialties you can rely on the support of other experienced nurses and you have a wider range of transferrable skills should you change your mind or want to grow. Just my thoughts from someone who worked exclusively nursery. Best of luck to you!

I am currently 4 months into a job, but recently, family health issues have caused me to consider moving back home. I am in a speciality area and there is an opening at a hospital near my home within the same system. I cannot transfer until 6 months, however, I feel that given the circumstances I would be given an exception, or would simply apply now and request that my start date be after the 6 month mark. I am concerned because of understaffing in my current unit. My manager and colleagues continually stress the need to "keep" new people. If this is an avenue I plan to pursue I know that I need to make my manager aware of my intentions. I have absolutely no idea how to go about it. 1. I am afraid that my manager will be upset with me personally. The reason I want to transfer is very personal involving my family. I do not want to answer questions about it or feel forced to justify my plans with details of the situation. For this reason, I feel that my coworkers and manager might believe I am simply making excuses. 2. I am afraid that due to understaffing my manager might attempt to make a deal with the manager at the other hospital to keep me in place. 3. I am worried that I will tell my manager of my plans, not get the job, and then face resentment at work. I give 100% each time I show up for work. I do not want others to question my dedication to the unit/patients. I have had no absences or mistakes at this point. I am well-liked and patients say good things about me. I want to go home and help support my family through a difficult time, but I am a generally passive person and am not sure how to go about this. I am hoping for some advice.