What made you become a ob-gyn nurse?

pebbles1977 · Jan 3, 2005

Hi there! I'm not much older than you, only by 10 years (I know, it probably seems ancient to you!). Anyways, when I was about 14 I decided I wanted to be a nurse. My grandmother was a nurse, and I was able to see a bitty bit of what she did as a retired nurse (working for an insurance co). That led to me asking her about nursing. She was a maternity nurse who was also during her career an OB instructor and a manager of a maternity ward. She never pressured me to do nursing, nonetheless OB/GYN. But she did encourage me to volunteer and learn as much about it as possible. So I was a jr. vol for awhile, and applied for as many opportunities as I could. Every time I got around women's health, I felt a connection. I LOVED labor and delivery, and will never forget the first birth I witnessed.

When I graduated nursing school, I went to work on a GYN/GYN oncology floor. It was very rewarding for me, and I was there for a few years. I moved a little too fast towards management there for my taste and discovered it wasn't for me. After a lot of prayers, the decision was easy and very clear (duh) that I needed to do L&D! So today was my first day off orientation there. I'm learning so much, and feel very lucky to be a part of these every day miracles.

Now, just to let you know, there is more to women's health than L&D. I would not trade my GYN experience for the world. Especially the oncology piece of it. You will learn skills there you wouldn't necessarily in OB. That could be your "med-surg" experience that you will be encouraged to get. And these onc patients can touch your life like you could never imagine.

When you're a nurse, you get to know and see so many intimate things about people/strangers that you never would otherwise. And it is a great thing.

I would strongly encourage exploring nursing for you, and whether or not you do OB/GYN, you will always have a job, and will always have options in that job. Even if all you want is desk work (nothing wrong w/that at all! but you may have to do some unit work first). There are so many opportunities, such as research, teaching, quality assurance, clinical specialties, private practice, legal, etc, the list could go on and on...

Nursing school is tough, and so is the job, but the rewards are so much greater!

Good luck to you!

WhisperingEchos · Jan 3, 2005

Thanks! I'm looking into nursing! The only bad thing is "What if nursing is not for me"! Those are my mom's words! I don't know owhat else to do! I've always been intersted in it!

Gompers, BSN, RN · Jan 3, 2005

Hey, My name is Alicia! I'm 17 years old and trying to figure out what I want to do after I graduate high school! I'm a jr. at the moment! I'm looking into ob-gyn! I love children and therefore, would like to work with them! So I thought it would be a good field!

I'd look more into pediatrics then, because in OB-GYN the bulk of your time is spent on the mothers, not the babies.

You don't have to decide now, though. When you go through nursing school, you study and experience all types of nursing, and when you finish school you'll have a better idea of what kind of area you'd like to work in. Good luck!

CrazyBlondesRock · Jan 3, 2005

Gompers is right that in OB/GYN (I'm in L & D) you spend most of your time working with moms. I can tell you that as a L+D nurse at most hospitals you will get a variety of different experiences: circulating (and sometimes scrubbing) in the OR, recovery, post-op, triage (because most ERs see that a woman is pregnant and I think immediately ship them to L+D), lady partsl deliveries, managing pts with high risk pregnancies....... And there are always more options in nursing. In nursing school I was crazy about OB and now I am thinking that I might like to try the OR someday.

I would encourage you to job shadow, job shadow, job shadow - that way you get a feel for nursing and it will illustrate to the nursing school that you want to apply to that you are serious about your decision. Good Luck!!

rnmi2004 · Jan 3, 2005

Thanks! I'm looking into nursing! The only bad thing is "What if nursing is not for me"! Those are my mom's words! I don't know owhat else to do! I've always been intersted in it!

The "what if" question applies to any profession a person is considering. Please don't let "what ifs" rule your life. If nursing is something you've always been interested in, I second the suggestion to shadow a nurse. Since one area of nursing is so different from another, I suggest shadowing in a few areas, if possible.

WhisperingEchos · Jan 4, 2005

Yeah, I guess i'll do nursing school and from there! I just have to find the right college!

SmilingBluEyes · Jan 4, 2005

I cannot possibly fit it all in here. Suffice it to say, I received some AWESOME and AWFUL care as a patient, and decided I wanted to make a difference as a nurse in others' lives. I used the good models (my awesome caregivers) to follow and do love what I do 99% of the time. I love the patients. Just HATE the charting/computerized med delivery right now. It is really hampering my being at the bedside, where I feel I belong. But I so love OB. It's where my heart is.