i WANT TO BE A LABOR & DELIVERY NURSE

babyktchr, BSN, RN · Nov 30, 2008

OB is a hard place to get into. Keep trying and maybe you can get your foot in the door. I was an ICU nurse and I just kept trying and someone took a chance on me.

OB is a different animal, a different challenge all the way around. Its much more than just delivering babies. You may very well have to start off doing post partum in order to get your shot in L&D. Your critical care skills will help you when learning physiology for reading strips and such, and just as a nurse from med/surg, you will have (hopefully) great critical thinking skills and organization.... other than that you are just like a new nurse all over again,having to be trained from scratch. That takes a lot of time, and managers look to orienting someone with experience than not. I am a manager, and I do take some chances on some new grads, and those I feel really have passion for the specialty. Historically though, OB is one of those places where someone has to die before a position opens up. Just keep looking and be persistent if you think this is what you want to do. Keep in mind....if you are burnt out in ICU/CCU, OB is not going to fix that for you. It is a whole new ballgame of stress. Make sure this is really what you want to do. Shadow a day with someone in L&D, take a basic monitoring course. I hope things work out for you and you find what you want. Good luck to you!!!

mommy#3CCRN · Nov 30, 2008

thanks for the response! Regarding feeling burnt out in the ICU/CCU, I suppose the cont saddening of events is what has taken its toll. I worked a a Bone marrow transplant/Oncology RN prior to going into critical care. I do realize there is more to OB nursing than just delivering babies, and I also realize that there is the share of incredibly devastating outcomes in that field as well, I just think that there are more joyous times than not. Stress... well I believe any specialty field carries its toll. I have always wanted to work in L&D but was told back in nursing school, that I would lose all my clinical skills, and needed to be grounded first. I don't know anyone in L&D so how do I shadow someone? Should I call the manager of the unit? Any way, thanks for the advice!! How long is the training? :nurse:

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · Dec 1, 2008

Ok you want to be a L&D nurse, you have an excellent nursing background. Have you contacted the Nurse Manager in L&D and asked what she is looking for?

I think you would be a great nurse especially for the high risk.

mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 1, 2008

I went from the ER to OB and it has not been an easy transition in the least. Sure I had my clinical skills down and my time management skills down but that was pretty much it. It's been a hard, tough road and more days than not I want to run screaming from the department and never come back. I agree, it's a whole other beast :) Of course I worked in a very hostile situation my first OB job so that did not help with the stress level either but that's a whole other post and a whole other thread

If OB is what you want, then apply, apply and apply some more. Do your homework, learn about the units, the flow and the pace. Find a place that will take the time to train you well. Don't take shortcuts even though you have experience. All parts of OB nursing has it's challenges but some parts will be easier than others.

Take a fetal monitoring class, take NRP. If you have access to online education from your facility, search for OB related classes and take all that you can. Learn and read all the info you can get your hands on, believe me, it does help!!!

Also, keep an open mind. Both places I have worked are OB units where we do it all from laboring our patient to scrubbing our sections to recovery of our C-sections to taking mom/baby couplets and sometimes you do it all in one shift. Very rarely do I come to work and "just have a labor".

My orientation at my first job was just shy of 5 months for all areas (PP, nursery and L&D). My orientation to my new job will be 1 month as I'm considered "experienced" now with all areas so I'm just basically doing departmental orientation.

Good luck to you!!!!

mommy#3CCRN · Dec 1, 2008

tHANKS FOR YOUR RESPONSE! i HAVE BEEN DOING SOME READING ON L&d SELF- EDUCATING MYSELF, IN PREPARATION FOR INTERVIEWS AND POSSIBLE HIRING! i DID THE SAME PREPARATION WHEN i WAS HIRED INTO THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT 6 YEARS AGO. iT DOES SEEM WEIRD STARTING OVER AGAIN, BUT i AM ALWAYS UP FOR NEW CHALLENGES! i'VE ALWAYS FELT THAT IF SOMETHING WAS NOT MEANT TO BE.. WELL, THEN IT JUST WOULDN'T WORK OUT! tHERE IS A HIGH RISK MATERNITY UNIT AT THE HOSPITAL I WORK FOR, DO YOU THINK IT IS PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA TO START THERE? tHANKS!! :nurse: :yeah:

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 1, 2008

Another suggestion:

Join AWHONN (http://www.awhonn.org) This is the professional organization representing/for OB/GYN, newborn and womens health nursing.

Get NRP certified. You likely have ACLS and PALS, but you need this certification to have anything to do with newborn care.

Like the others said, apply and actually meet with the nursing manager and let him or her know how much you want to join them. Keep trying; don't give up. And good luck!!!!

RNBelle · Dec 1, 2008

I had 8 months PP experience. I thought I was kind of getting the hang of things and now I am doing L&D. I feel like I am a new grad, starting from scratch, BUT I have great nurses showing me the ropes. Hopefully a year from now I feel competent. It is a whole different animal. But I like it and it is a great experience. The biggest thing is to make sure you are paired up with good preceptor and don't let them short change you on orientation. Have fun catching babies!! I work in a rural hospital and we are always looking for RNs. Check out all your options.