RN new grad going into L&D

[cw123]

Hello everyone! I am an RN student about to graduate in May. I was interviewed for a job for a perinatal floor over the phone yesterday. The manager of the floor told me that they aren't afraid to hire new grads out of college, but you can't be afraid to ask questions and you must be a fast learner. They generally do a 12 week orientation. I only had 3 weeks of clinical on L&D and it was 6 days in all. I loved L&D more than any other clinical I did, but I don't feel like I have as much knowledge on the subject as other floors such as med surge. Do yall recommend starting out in L&D? This is a small town, local hospital. In fact it as the one I was born at. On this floor, I will be taking care of antepartum, postpartum (couplet care), laboring patients, OR, etc. Does this sound doable for a new grad? Also, is it better to start out at night or days?? All advice appreciated!!

[Croaker]

Hey cw123! Congratulations on getting this far, and keep pushing;you are almost an RN!:)

I am a new grad nurse who works on an L&D/Post-Partum floor. I got hired after I graduated right before I took the N-CLEX in Janurary. I think OB as a new grad is totally doable if you are willing to hop in there, ask loads of questions and always be willing to learn at every opportunity. It will be overwhelming at first(especially the first month), but it does get better!! Having precepted in both an OB-ED and L&D were quite beneficial as OB nurses seem to speak another language compared to everywhere else in nursing and it takes a bit of time to get used to it. That is a short orientation to L&D-most of the units around my area do 4-6 months of orientation for new graduates.

Also, consider getting Mosby's guide to Fetal monitoring-it is a very good book to learn the pathophysiology behind what is causing the baby to not be doing well in labor and how to correct it.

Good luck, and welcome to OB:)

[klone, MSN, RN]

Many new grads start off in OB and do just fine.

[LNDNursila, RN]

CONGRATS on almost being done with school! I am a fairly new RN (graduate Dec 2018) and I started off on an LND unit as a new grad. I was oriented to both days and nights so I could get as much experience as possible. I will say that if you have any doubts about LND or you may want to consider another path you might want to consider starting on med surg or something similiar. LND is so specialized and has totally different skill sets compared to other nursing jobs. I knew I wanted LND so I was more than willing to start off with it and stick with it! As long as you ask questions, try to get as much experience on orientation and jump into the unknown you'll do great! Good luck!

[dinah77, ADN]

I think you'll be fine as a new grad. However, make sure L&D is where your heart truly lies. I was positive that was where I wanted to end up, but ended up loving postpartum way more. I absolutely loathed charting fetal heart strips etc, but I love being able to have time to really chat with the new moms, teach breastfeeding, help cuddle the babies, teach basics like burping, etc.
So just keep that in mind- otherwise, best of luck!