Transition from med-surg to labor and delivery

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Hi fellow RNs! For the last two years I have been applying everywhere to get to my dream job in L&D with no luck so far. I have been an RN for two years now with experience on a med-surg unit and an oupatient clinic. The hospital I currently work for does not have an OB unit. To those you who've been in a similar predicament, how long did it take you to find a job in L&D? Also, any insight on your experience transitioning into the specialty would be great. Thanks! :up:

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Specializes in Behavioral Health.

I stumbled upon mine pretty quickly. I will say our manager prefers hiring nurses with no L&D experience only if they have ER experience.

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I went from med-surg to L&D. The journey is different for everyone. It was all about the right timing/place situation for me. I would sign up for job alerts with facilities that have OB and have your cover letter and resume ready. Med-surg helped me learn how to prioritize acuity/tasks and after having tons of hard sticks on Med-Surg you'll have an easy time starting IV's in OB.

I personally went into L&D by luck of the draw. I had a terrible experience moving 60 miles for my med-surg job only for the unit to shut down 4 months afterwards. Luckily, I had my NRP and ACLS in hopes of landing L&D, which definitely helped me make my case to the nursing director. My coworkers come from different backgrounds too- SNIF's, medical spas, abroad experience, pediatrics.

Hope this helps. Best of luck!

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Thanks for responding. I had 3 interviews and now I'm just waiting for references/background. I'm very excited and nervous. Any other tips and experiences on starting in L&D are welcome :up:

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