meri29

I had my OB pt tell me recently that she was allergic to glucose. She said that she had thrown up the drink the gave her for her GTT, and that I was to be very careful if I gave her any glucose. I gently corrected her about her "allergy' and had a good laugh afterwards! Sometimes, you hear the darndest things!:wink2:

My hospital does not allow elective c/s for gestational ages

We place them at my hospital. We also all place FSE's. Most of us also do IUPCs, but you have to be checked off on that first (I haven't yet). Anyway, with Cervidil, it's supposed to be placed behind the posterior fornix, but anywhere next to the cervix (not in) is fine. First I check the patient (with a different set of gloves) in order to find out where he cervix is, and if she actually needs Cervidil. Before placing, I always bend the Cervidil once to help release prostaglandin. The Cervidil is straight up and down as I start to place it (where I originally found cervix). Then, I turn it sideways, once I've found where I want it placed. After placement, I ALWAYS tuck the string in the lady parts. It is much harder to tuck the string in because the blasted thing tends to get stuck on your finger as you're trying to tuck it in. However, it is well worth it if you can because they rarely fall out this way. After this, I do one more SVE to check placement of the Cervidil, and instruct my patients to only pat dry when they use the restroom. I'm a newer nurse, so I've only placed about 30? Cervidils, but I've only had one fall out. Half of my Cervidils go into labor during the night with a lot of cervical change. The others tend to change minimally if at all. They usually all c/o cramping at about 0300, so I trust my placement. LOL!

I am about 9 months into my first job as a New Grad OB Nurse. Just know that your first year in nursing will be tough - no matter what area you go into. OB is a difficult area to start out in because there are so many general nursing skills to become proficient at (IV's, lab draws, different routes of med administration, etc), so many OB skills to learn (SVE's, EFM monitoring, etc), and as always time management. We learn so many skills in nursing school, but it often takes awhile for us to be fully competent in the real world. Just know that with L&D, you will be doing more than just laboring moms and participating in lady partsl deliveries. I work in one of the largest L&D units in the country (who by the way had a fabulous OB Internship), and I'm expected to not only labor moms, but I also have to circulate and recover C/S pts, as well as take care of our unstable High Risk pts, and be proficient in straight up Postpartum Care. Each of these areas will have their own set of skills. I feel like I get my Med-Surg experience when I'm taking care of our High Risk clients (they're not always high risk for OB reasons and PIH pts would fit right in on a Med Surge floor..........).

I have the exact same problem. I've been doing night-shift since June, and cannot sleep on my nights off. It has nothing to do with work stress and everything to do with my internal clock being off. I sleep like a rock during the day. Finally, I resorted to taking Ambien 5mg on my nights off. I'm hoping I can shift my time clock back when I go to days in 3 weeks.

I think the hospitals should provide more QUALIFIED interpreters (human ones - not language line) whose only job is to interpret. My learning a little medical spanish does not qualify me to admit a pt or explain POC or side effects of medications. My other vent is that language line is slow, and often the phones do not work well. It is very difficult for me to admit a multip spanish pt, who's 6cm on admission, and going natural before all of our forms and consents are signed. Not to mention how this can impede actual pt care. Very often, we are back-charting after delivery....

My bio-clock is not responding to nites. I'm currently working three 12's a week, and my sleep patterns are all over the place. I need Ambien to help me sleep on my nites off. Then, I find that I'm still amotivated and tired during my time off. In a couple of weeks, I'll start doing four 8's a week instead (still at nite). I'm just hoping that my routine will normalize a bit (at least until a day shift comes available).... In terms of being sick, I'm actually very healthy. My body is just very stressed with these hours. It's all part of paying your dues as a new grad...

I work for one the largest L&D facilities in the country. We stabilize babies in the room and use re-sus team for our more difficult babies. The family is more calm knowing than not knowing. Also, for our borderline viability babies that parents decide not to resus, we use comfort measures and keep baby in the room with parents as long as need be (per the family's wishes of course).

They all hire new grads. The new grad programs are listed under residencies, internships, etc. If you want a specialty, I suggest you apply early.

It depends on where you live. I'm a new grad nurse at one the the busiest L&D units in the country. We are expected to manage two active labor patients once we're off orientation. However, we have a team leader who covers one patient while you do an epidural, delivery, etc in your other room. The place is VERY organized - so the system works.

Mercer is a GREAT program. It's half the price of Emory, do-able in 2.5 years, VERY well respected (vast majority of new grads are hired straight into specialties), and financial aid is available - even to 2nd degree students. I would go there all over again.

It depends on the OB floor. If you are interviewing for an L&D unit that is separate from postpartum, then there should be no issue as consents and treatments are managed in pp. If, however, it is a combined LDRP unit, then you should be up front with the manager. IMHO.

I wouldn't worry too much khirbz. Prior to NCLEX, I probably did about 3000 questions between Saunders, the NSNA Review CD, and some Kaplan books. I did not take Kaplan's actual course. Even at the end of my studying, I was only getting between 68%-78% correct on the tests. And I was freaking out and thinking about rescheduling the exam until I could get a better percentage. However, I passed NCLEX with 75 questions in 45 minutes on my first try. So, I think youre doing fine.

You can go to the Secretary of State's website to see the 2005 pass rates. I doubt the 2006 ones are up yet.

Have a previous degree (& had fun getting it). Started NS at 23. Finished this month at 25 with my BSN.