Want to be L&D rn but hate the OR?

[Julcary]

Hello!

I have a question for you L&D nurses out there. Should I pursue this field if I do not care much for the OR? Let me explain.. I've been a mom/baby nurse for a few years, and also spent a little less than a year doing labor and delivery at an out of hospital birth center, where we only did lady partsl births. If the pt needed a c/s, they would be transferring out of our facility. I am very passionate about this area of nursing and have wanted to move into L&D at the hospital, but I have a fear, an intimidation, of the OR. I hated my OR rotations in nursing school and find myself anxious thinking about having to go into the OR on a regular basis for cesareans. On the other hand I don't want this fear to get in the way. I guess I'm wondering, really how much of your time being an L&D nurse is spent in the OR? Do you think I could learn to be confident in this? Thanks for any advice.

[IrishIzCPNP, MSN, RN, APRN, NP]

I hated the OR...but sucked it up as part of L&D. I just would cross my fingers I didn't end up in there. You can certainly make in L&D and hate the OR...not every aspect of every job is perfect. I luckily spent most of my time out of the OR.

[perfexion, ASN, RN]

I have the opposite problem. I love the OR but as luck would have it I almost never end up there. I actually volunteered to circulate for a complicated 26 week preterm cesarean and tubal ligation last week because I haven't been to the OR in months. I think working nights and weekends helps because during the day they usually schedule cases. At night it's mostly crashes or repeats. I don't know if working nights is an option for you but I only work Friday, Saturday and Sunday (and occasionally Thursday) night and I rarely see cesareans. But maybe that's just my luck.

[NurseNora, BSN, RN]

I happened to be part of a study to see if there was a statistically significant difference in the section rates between different nurses. There was and I was in the low section group. The researcher was not able to identify why some nurses routinely had more or less sections; maybe you'll be in the low section group. As others have mentioned, working night shift and weekends when sections are not scheduled will decrease the number you are exposed to. Or perhaps it would be better to do lots of scheduled sections because they tend to be much less tense than the emergency ones done on the off shifts. The atmosphere in a section is somewhat different than other surgeries. It is a family experience and we try to make it more family friendly (while maintaining good technique). My current thing is trying to get more staff to do skin to skin in the OR. It makes the moms happy and the babies nurse like champs! So even though sections aren't my thing, I've found a way to try to make it better for everyone, including me.

[dariah]

I don't love the OR but I'm rarely in there. When I was first learning to circulate I would get so nervous and intimidated too, but like with everything, it gets easier with practice and experience.

[Julcary]

Great. Thank you this makes me feel better :-)

[Calinurse4]

I started in L&D as a new grad last year and trained on PMs and then switched to nights. Because of that, I didn't have much experience in the OR due to the calm, scheduled c/s happening during day shift. Ours were almost always OB responses or STAT. I always feel so clumsy and unsure when I'm in there, especially if I don't have help. Luckily, I may only average being in the OR once or twice a month. This past time I was in there, I actually thought to myself, "wow, I handled that fine and it wasn't so bad". With anything else, you become more comfortable with time and experience. But I know how you feel!

[Katie71275]

I also don't love the OR, but where I am at, we are cross trained, so I work 3, 12 hr shifts in a 6 week period in the OR. Our OR is run just like a regular OR but most of the nurses are all former L&D nurses. Once you get used to it, I think it will be less intimidating.

[Katie71275]

Oh and on the L&D side, I just transfer my patient there and stay until baby is out. The OR team does most of it, but I will help where I am needed.

[acsrn]

I initially hated the OR. But I love it now. Practice, and lots of unscheduled sections helped me become proficient. But i was terrified at first and felt very inept. Don't worry. Its like everything, you will get it down and then you you probably wont feel the same way.

[passionflower, BSN, MSN, RN]

I used to hate the OR and still do. Funny thing happened to me on the way to the OR a couple of weeks ago. Found myself engaged in conversation and even laughed a couple of times. Normally I am all tense and anxious. Guess I realized I was becoming proficient at it and it wasn't the big bad wolf anymore. I still prefer the floor, but am OK in the OR

[Julcary]

It's encouraging to know I'm not the only one that feels anxious about the OR. Like most things, sounds like I could grow to be more comfortable with it. Thanks for all of your responses!