What have I gotten myself into!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Ok so I just started working in labor and delivery (i have had 4 days of orientation, and will get 7 more weeks), I have 4 years experience in postpartum/nursery, but decided to try something new when I moved out of state. After 4 days I feel totally overwhelmed and like I am not going to be able to learn everything there is to do in the next 7 weeks in order to be independenty taking care of laboring pts (yeah, yeah I know the spill about how you are never alone and your coworkers help etc). On my drive home from work today I came to the realization that perhaps i just plain don't enjoy labor and delivery. I really thought I wanted to do it, but I am wondering if the reason i "really" wanted to do it because postpartum nurses get no respect and it is the general opinion of the entire profession that they have no skills other than feeling a fundus and breastfeeding! So...I feel like i miss my little postpartum world that i felt so comfortable in and am wondering if i should go back to it. Did anyone else feel this way when they first started in LDR? I feel like it is difficult to learn in LDR because when things happen they happen so fast that it is hard to learn what to do and impossible to recreate it to practice. ahhhhh. Do you really think 8 weeks is a long enough orientation??? i have never quit anything before and the idea of quitting after so few days bothers me, but i also don't want to get in too deep. I'm not sure i have any realy concrete questions to ask of you all, this is mostly a vent, but seriosuly any advice is appreciated!

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Specializes in telemetry, med-surg and hospice.

Dont quit. Change is stressful, learning new things is stressful....but it will get better as you go. It seems natural to want to go back to a place of comfort. If after your orientation is nearing an end, you still feel uncomfortable, talk to your manager and your preceptor. Im guessing if you are still feeling overwhelmed they will realize it too. It's alright if after you attempt it and it still doesnt feel right, to do something else. The beauty of our profession is that there are many avenues to explore and we definately have job security!! Good luck to you and hang in there until you have had enough time to make sure that you are making the right decision.

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Specializes in postpartum, nursery, high risk L&D.

((HUGS)) I do hear you. I went from postpartum to an LDRP unit and felt totally overwhelmed at first too. There is so much to learn in a short period of time. After a year or so I finally got to the point where I was somewhat comfortable doing labor; I no longer thought "PLEASE let me have a mom-baby assignment tonight..." on my way in to work. Now I've been doing it for two & a half years and I love labor; I'd rather do labor than mom-baby or anything else.

I think it helps to have the postpartum background, too. It will be easier for you to see the whole picture. This forum is a very good resource when you are learning; I don't post that often but I read through the threads all the time and learn so much from here. Also, 7 or 8 weeks is not really an adequate orientation if you ask me. I had 12 weeks and I didn't feel like that was enough. so don't be afraid to ask for more orientation if you think you need it.

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Good luck. I did mother-baby to LDRP 10 years ago. I hear you loud and clear. I agree that 7 weeks may be too brief, but I think you can become a L/D nurse. I know I had my doubts, many times over the years and longed for the security of the M/B unit. I like working all the areas, but L/D is my favourite. It takes years to build your confidence. You can become "safe" in about 3 months. By this I mean you can figure out okay I know what to do OR I need to call for back-up here. There's a lot of ups and downs. It is a HUGE responsibility, but it is a great job, most of the time. BTW, now I am actually the unit educator and often long for the "safety" of just being the L/D nurse. Best of luck. All I can say is speak up if you think you need extra orientation. Your postpartum background is an advantage and you can do it!

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Hang in there! I totally understand what you mean. I went thru the same thing when I started L&D a almost 2yrs ago. I was very excited to start working here, but I didn't understand a lot of the risks that come with this territory. I remember feeling like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I didn't want to go back to med-surg and I didn't wanna leave too soon. I had to face my fears. It was very overwhelming and scary learning all the new stuff. Once I started getting confident in myself, I felt like I could do anything. I can now say that I love and enjoy working L&D. I'm glad I stayed. It's definately not for everyone. I'd encourage you to hang in there for a little longer and see how you feel in 6months. It normally takes about a year to feel "comfortable" working L&D.

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Specializes in L&D/Mother-Baby.

Thanks to all who posted because you all provided a sense of relief even for me. I am a recent grad from nursing school (January) and landed my first job as a nurse in a busy L&D unit at a city hospital in NYC.

I cross trained early in my orientation in Mother/Baby & GYN unit for about 6 weeks and can definitely say that the pace is much slower than L&D. My entire orientation is comprised of 6 weeks of Mother/Baby, 4 weeks of OBS traige, 2 months of L&D, and one month of OR experience as a scrub nurse. I am currently entering the month of OR experience and expect to be done with orientation at the end of October. I am praying that I can feel good enough to go on my own in November since I will be switching from the day shift to the evening shift where the nurses work a little more independently. I do not think I would be comfortable with a few short weeks of orientation to such a unit, especially for a new nurse like me.

My fears are more related to being totally new to the world of nursing and taking on the massive responsibility that a L&D nurse has. While I have moments that I am afraid, more because I am not as fast as I'd like to be, I feel that with time and practice one can start to feel more comfortable with what needs to be done.

I have faith that having passion and dedication to something will help you overcome the obstacles that being new to something brings. Hang in there and do not worry, you are not alone. There are many of us out there with similar fears and concerns. Use your colleagues and your manager if you feel you need more time to train. Best of luck!

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Wow, the more I hear the more I think I'll just keep holding out for another specialty than the L&D unit this hospital is trying to get new recruits on.

Newborn nursery, ok, mother baby, ok (let them say what they want about skills) but L&D seems more like the ER, and I wouldn't touch that with a 10 ft pole.

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