I am currently an adult critical care nurse. I am considering making a change to L&D or NICU. My long term goal would be nurse midwifery. I don't know any nurses in this field personally, and I' m wondering what it's really like. Any thoughts from someone in the field would be appreciated. I would especially like to hear from nurses who have switched from other specialties to L&D or NICU or midwifery. I'm curious about what you consider to be the best and worst parts of this field. Thanks! 

I switched to NICU nursing after several years both in pediatric and community emergency department. I loved my old specialty. I loved my new one more. Upsides and downsides... its wonderful to work in a patient population where you're helping an entire family. Especially if you like to teach.... there's a ton of teaching opportunities in the NIC... Downsides.... the NICU i work in isn't in a great area, and we wind up with lots of babies that are going into the system. There's aleady been several that I've fallen completely in love with and one in paticular that I was serious about wanting to bring home with me and foster.

good luck with your decision.

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Life is a continuous lesson and we must attempt to apply what's been taught.

I encourage you to follow your heart and try labor and delivery.  I have worked L&D for 8 yrs and was an OB tech while in nursing school.  I believe you can truly make a difference in a patient/family's life.  They spend so much time with you, the ability to give them a good birth experience lies with you. It is truly a priviledge to labor and deliver a  patient.  Even in the most grim deliveries, your support, monitoring, communication is paramount to their outcomes.  It does however require a strong personality type (which is where we get the reputation as 'primadonna's)  You have to be able to call a physician and say 'get out of bed and bring your knife, now'.  This  requirement (I work in a small hospital), leads to increased nurse to nurse conflict.  Follow your heart.  Good Luck!

                                                                  

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T. Harkins, RNC Labor & Delivery Childbirth Educator

The best part of L&D nursing is that you get to share very intimately with a very exciting part of a young woman's life. They never forget you and the rewards are fairly immediate. If you are an adrenaline junkie, this is the job for you. It is normally a very happy nursing job as most of the patients are very healthy.  I have been an L&D nurse going on 20 years and have never regretted one minute of it.

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Lori

As a charge nurse who has worked in L&D for nearly 20 years, in a hospital that has delivered almost 5300 babies in just the last year alone, I believe that your skills in adult critical care will be a tremendous asset to you as you transition into this specialty.  A great L&D nurse has strong critical thinking skills, is a team player, and is fearless when advocating for his / her patients.  It is such a rush to be a part of such an important event in a patient's life.  Oh, and don't worry about 'losing' any skills you have gained while working in critical care.  Depending on where you work, there will still be plenty of opportunities to work with cardiac patients, trauma patients, psych patients, med/ surg patients, OR patients, insulin drips, art lines, well you get the idea.  Just a small word of warning... some other specialities don't 'get' L&D and think of it as 'fluff' nursing.  That couldn't be farther from the truth... plan on being challenged in ways you never dreamed of.  I wouldn't have it any other way and I have never regretted my decision to help a family be born.  Welcome to the L&D family and wishing you lots and lots of happy 'birth' days!!!  

I have been a Labor & Delivery nurse for 20 years.  My background was in Social Work and I thought I wanted to do Psychiatric Nursing!  I hated my psych rotation and loved L&D, so that is the route I have gone and never regretted it.  I also teach prenatal classes, NRP(neonatal resuscitation for the nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists), AWHONN Fetal Monitoring classes and ocassionally do Legal Nurse Consulting.  Each day and each patient will be a new experience.  L&D is generally a happy family environment, of course, as with any unit in a hospital there are those times which are stressful and sad.  Never stop learning...attend national seminars and conferences...know your unit policies and procedures...know your professional stardards (AWHONN standards)...document completely (accurately and factually)...seek out learning opportunities and stretch yourself as a nurse.  Your background and knowledge base will give you a head start in this rewarding area of nursing.  It is very gratifying when a couple or family express their appreciation for the care you have given during their labor and request you as their nurse the next time they come back.  The downside.....it is a highly litigated area.  After you have worked with the doctors and they become familiar with your knowledge base in fetal monitoring and your judgement and decision skills, they will express their appreciation when you take care of their patients.  Good luck and welcome to Labor & Delivery!!

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mmsrn

     I worked the units on and off for 9 years before I went into L&D for 24 years.  Monitor background helped me grasp the theory and learning of fetal monitoring rapidly.  You use your skills to monitor 2 people..one you can see and evaluate and one you can't. You have the monitor and Mom.  Birth is a life affirming joy and every one was with great pride and love.  You will not regret it.  I still love the experience even though my career has taken another path.

I am 30 years old.  I have three children 14, 12, and 10.  I got an early start.  I have always wanted to be a labor and delivery nurse.  Up until now I have never had the time.  I'm at a place in my life where I really want something for myself.  This seems to be a very satifying and rewarding job.  I have looked online and cannot find what the requirements are to be a labor and delivery nurse.  Could you tell me what type of schooling is required and how long it took you?  Also on your message it said that you worked as an ob tech while you were in school.  What exactly is that and did you have to have a degree?  Thanks for your time.

Christi

Hi,

 I am Jenny I have been studding labor and delivery nurses for a long time now, and my only question is how long do you need to be a RN before u are able to work in that field..?

Thanks so much for your time..!

Jenny

 

Many hospitals offer preceptorships for L&D.  Some offer for experienced nurses as well as new grads.  Some want only experienced nurses (2-3 years experience on another floor).  It really depends on the hospital. 

NICU RN....came from a telemetry floor....noticed that nicu nurses tend to be perfectionists, anal, meticulous (poor speller). they need to be!, infants change so fast from good to bad ..... if tiny little change noticed could stop spiral from happening. once a baby in the downward spiral , very difficult to get them out! Adults change from good to bad slowly compared to neonates.  Would be awsome to have critical care nursing in Labor and Delivery, noticed that staff has a hard time handling problems because they dont deal with them that often.....hope i helped some!