your thoughts, please

[Lanesmama]

I am a student working on getting into nursing school- long term goal L&D. I have a BS in education, had my babies, decided that was the most awesome experience and how great it would be to share with others (though I've long been interested in the medical field... just decided against it as a teenager because I couldn't stand the thought of cleaning a member... got over that and now a CNA.)

Anyway to make a long story short- we have to write a personal statement which answers the following questions:

1. What are ideal attributes of a nurse

2. What would be your contribution to nursing

I think I should come up with something that relates to L&D but all I have are my own personal experiences... so wondering if you can give me some insight of what you think are ideal attributes of an L&D nurse. Something that might be a little different than other specialties. I'm probably a little naive in that I had near perfect deliveries in excellent time with perfect babies and I guess maybe sometimes I forget that isn't always the case!

So for example do you think that empathy is the most important quality or quick thinking andmaybe a brief explanation!

TY in advance!

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

How about you tell us more about what you're thinking. It should come from you anyway, rather than us....dontcha think?

[dthfytr, ADN, LPN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-I]

How about you tell us more about what you're thinking. It should come from you anyway, rather than us....dontcha think?

Yeah, I have to cry foul on this request. My ideas about what you should put down for an answer could be all wrong for you. Besides, in your post you had no problems presenting yourself in a positive light.

[Lanesmama]

I'm sorry I didn't mean for it to come off that I am looking for an easy answer. I'm not. I am perfectly capable of writing this statement. What I am looking for is: are there major differences between types of nursing and the qualities that would set them apart from their coworkers- i.e. an oncology nurse would need to be more empathetic than a pediatric nurse (in a clinic). The reason I am wondering that is because I want to be able to include something in my statement that sets me apart from the other candidates... to have the best chance of getting into the program.

I didn't mean to make myself sound great- I'm not by any means... I just meant that maybe I don't fully understand what L&D is all about because I didn't have to deal with epidurals, stitches, c-sections, demise, hemhorraging, induction, or any of the other interventions/horror stories you hear about...

I guess if I had to answer my question now it would be that L&Dd nurses have to be knowledgeable in many areas and be prepared for anything because conditions can change in a heartbeat. I would also have to say that they would need to have great interpersonal communication skills because they would need to be able to understand the patient, explain to the patient procedures/what is happening, get their patient to make decisions as needed, delegate jobs on the fly when things are in the heat of the moment, etc. Also they would need to be empathetic with families who are dealing with demise or serious/fatal/or even unexpected conditions in their newborn.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

If I were you, I would not even mention any specialty aspirations (L&D). I would focus on your generalized nursing goals. Most of us seasoned nurses are practicing in areas far, far away from our original goals & expectations. Not to mention the fact that nursing schools want to turn out a well-rounded nurse, not one who only has eyes for one type of job.

Write your goals as a potential nurse, not a potential L&D nurse.

[cathlabdino]

I was an L&D nurse right out of school. I will never forget the lack of empathy some "seasoned" nurses showed toward the young, lower income girls that came in, pregnant in their early teens. Often, these girls were uncooperative, because they didn't really understand what was going on inside their bodies and were fearful when the nurses went to do a lady partsl exam. I was young and new, and took another approach. I educated the girls, showing them a diagram of how the cervix dilates and explained why it was important for us to know how much it was dilated and how it was thinning, to better anticipate the arrival of their baby. That always seemed to work, and I was successful at the exam. No matter your personal biases, you still have to treat everyone with compassion.

So, when you refered to needing empathy, I thought you hit the nail on the head, for this and many other reasons. Of course, that's a huge part of nursing, in all arenas.

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

I think what you wrote could be adapted to fit any area of nursing, and agree you wouldn't want to limit your response to just one specialty. Everything you wrote could fit into general nursing, if you take out reference to the baby at the end.

[mentalhealthRN]

I agree that you should make it general. I, like you, was "sure" I wanted to be an L&D nurse. I started nursing school when my son was 5 months old so I had recent experience with it and wanted to be a part of it on the other side as a care giver. Well almost 8 years as a nurse I am not in L&D. I worked there for 6 months out of school and realized I felt limited and decided to try other things. I have worked in many areas and ended up finding my niche in psych of all places......which if you would have told me back when I was sure I was going to be a career L&D nurse then a midwife, I would have told you no way. So not for nothing but go into this letter as well as into school and clinicals with an open mind. You may be right and end if only in L&D forever, but you never know so give every opportunity a chance.