Whew, what a first day in L/D!

SmilingBluEyes · Jun 26, 2003

nope you sound like ME first YEAR on the job....hang in there and follow the advice we gave you before. You will be ok....

Yea L and D is WAY different than GYN for SURE...

mark_LD_RN · Jun 26, 2003

depends on where you are,and how busy the unit is. ideally you would not be thrown in like that but sometimes you are left with no choice. hopefully the other nurses helped lok out for you and the patients, and did not totally leave you alone.

good luck hope it all goes well for you:)

see we do more than just hold babies:)

fergus51 · Jun 26, 2003

Nausea was a part of the job, every shift, for the first six months I worked in L&D. The most important part of an internship is knowing that you have help when you need it. I always started by doing what I knew and asking about what I didn't.

SmilingBluEyes · Jun 27, 2003

YEA NEVER EVER PRETEND TO KNOW WHAT YOU DO NOT....fatal mistake. ASK ASK ASK.....you are never stupid to ask questions. I feel you will do fine.

Sable's mom · Jun 27, 2003

I agree completely with the comment "never pretend to know something you don't know" and that the first six months on the job a nervous stomach is normal - the scariest interns or new nurses are the ones without the good sense to be scared!!

Good luck - keep asking questions and it WILL get better.

Tiki_Torch · Jul 13, 2003

RNtobeMoni,

Yes! I agree with the others in this thread...

Ask questions anytime you are not sure of something! Safety must come first! You're working too hard to earn your degree to ruin everything with a mistake you could make because you didn't ask a question. Besides that, this being your first internship and all, you need to learn from the get-go the appropriate way a newbie should be treated on a unit. Your manager is ultimately responsible for you being given the best opportunity, and your responsibility is to make the most of the opportunity given to you.

Ask someone to observe you doing procedures whenever you feel you need someone to reassure you that you are doing it correctly.

Asking questions and for help doing things (procedures, charting, critical thinking, etc.) is important and best tolerated by your co-workers when you are fresh and new. The longer you work there the less questions they expect you to ask, so take advantage of being new now.

When you learn someting new, write it down in a little notebook. When you get home from that shift, write it again more neatly and concisely, with drawings or whatever, in another notebook. Review the things in the notebooks often, not only when you are wondering about a certain thing, but just to review. This is a great way to "re-ask" the same questions which gave you trouble without having to ask the same questions over and over to the nurses.

By the way, I think you should be assigned a certain nurse each shift to be like a preceptor... a person to go to to ask your questions... someone who is proficient in L&D, enjoys teaching, is patient, and not too overloaded with patients to be able to help you learn well. (Maybe the charge nurse?) I don't know how your internship is set up, but I'd think that for at least he first few weeks you'd be "put with" someone for the purposes of learning your work correctly and safely. Maybe your nurse manager could enlighten you as to what is expected of you and what you are to expect of your co-workers. Ask sooner rather than later!!!

Best wishes for a rewarding experience in L&D!!!

:)