more questions

Here's my next question....forgive me, I know it sounds ridiculous. Do you really learn all you need to know in nursing school? Or do you think a person needs certain "instincts" (or have tremendous amounts of common sense) to be a quality nurse. For some reason, I feel so inadequate, like I don't know something I should know. How do I go from point A (not having ANY knowledge on how to deal with a crisis besides yelling for help :lol ) to point B (knowing how respond to and deal with an emergency.

Ok, lay it on me....gently

While I can't answer the first question - the answer to your second is an emphatic "HELL NO", you can't learn "everything" you need to know in nursing school. Don't worry about the "what ifs". Focus on what you're learning now and know it well. A little knowledge can go a long way. And, you said it - COMMON SENSE IS KEY to every decision you make whether it's in an emergency situation or not. Just be a good, observant student and learn all you can while you're in school or clinicals. ASK QUESTIONS!! You know what they say about those who "assume" they know!

Experience will come in time. I remember graduating from medic school back in '94 and thinking...ohhh, I'm glad externs and clinicals are over with, but still wondering about my true skills as a medic. Now I've used many of those skills so much, it's like second nature. Be patient and absorb info like Spongebob takes on water.

And have a great day!!!

Ok, so how do I get exposure to the true "nitty gritty" side of L&D?

In my experience the scariest thing about L&D is being treated badly (disrespectfully, dismissively, sarcastically, snidely, belittleingly, rudely) by the doctors who treat nurses as peons and servants. Never in my life did I have a bad opinion of doctors until I started working with them.

To answer your questions more directly, a bad day is phones that never stop ringing, patients who never stop coming in, babies who don't stop going bad; stacking people in the OR because the triage area is full; blood pressures that won't come down, heart rates that won't come up; doctors who want things done two hours ago and who blame you for everything that is going wrong; supplies that aren't restocked; equipment that is missing. L&D is an acute practice area where it is to be expected that patients' conditions will be changing. Calm and stability isn't part of the job.

Ideally nursing school gives you a good foundation where you learn about physiology, good practice versus bad practice re: infection control, medication administration, etc., but ideally the particulars of OB nursing you learn in a good orientation program and through experience. It helps to remember that every single OB nurse was new once. It also helps to have a very thick skin.

Altalorraine

Yes, it takes someone special to be a nurse but you won't learn it by watching. You have to do it. And if you think L&D is your area, fine. The wonderful thing about nursing is that it is so flexible. You can change your mind later about where you want to practice - even years later.

Trust me, as someone who is newly out of school and in L&D:

I DON'T KNOW WHAT I THOUGHT NURSING SCHOOL WAS THE END OF.

And also, even nurses who have been doing this for 30 years will tell you they are still learning.

Best of luck to you.

only halfway through nsg school but i can already tell you that you don't learn a fifth of everything you need to know in school. not even close.

I think the old saying of "see one, do one, teach one" is kind of what OB emergencies are all about, you won't really know what to do until you see one happen, then the next time you will know what to do, then the next time you will be the one tellling others what to do. I work a high volume, high risk unit, that has emergencies often, the more you see the more comfortable you get, not that an emergencie doesn't get everyones heart racing, but you will learn to be calm, and focus on what needs to be done.

The thing is you are never alone, there are allways people to help, and no question is ever too dumb to ask.

You should try to do a student exernship in L&D. I did an externship last summer, and it was a terrific experience. I shadowed a L&D nurse for 6 weeks, participating in 29 deliveries; learned how to do the documentation, read fetal monitors, how to coach a women through labor and support her through a c-section, what is expected of a L&D nurse, and much more. My first delivery (less than an hour into my first shift) needed suprapubic pressure, and an exam for shoulder dystocia. I saw everything from Bradley births with a birthing bar, no IV, and no meds; to forcepts after 3 hours of pushing; to an ER delivery; to delivering a baby when no doctor had arrived; to a pre-term twin c-section delivery. The experience was invaluable, let me know exactly what happens in L&D, and that this is the field I want to get into when I graduate.