Whats a Nurse That Delivers Babys Called How Much Is Nursing School
Welcoming new life into the world both fascinates and inspires y'all. You've been thinking about taking on a career that allows you to be at the helm of caring for both the mothers and newborns who feel the strenuous and miraculous process of labor and delivery. You're interested in condign a labor and delivery nurse, but you're not sure how to make that dream into a reality. Labor and delivery nurses, commonly considered a subset of obstetrics (OB) nursing, are specifically tasked with guiding women through childbirth and caring for the child immediately after.
With all the nursing specialties out there, information technology can be confusing to know what requirements there are to become a labor and commitment nurse. In that location's not ane single path to your dream nursing career, but there are some of import steps you tin take to ensure you're heading in the right direction.
Read on to learn more about a career every bit a labor and delivery nurse, how to become one and what to await once yous've made it.
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Tips for how to get a labor and delivery nurse
If you're interested in condign a labor and delivery nurse, you'll first want a road map of how to become in that location. We've asked experienced L&D nurses to provide their tips and advice for getting started.
i. Become an RN
As with any nursing specialty, the commencement step is becoming a licensed registered nurse. Your required grooming volition help y'all build a foundation of universal nursing skills. From there, you'll have to go above and across to narrow your focus on labor and delivery.
Past earning an ADN or a BSN, yous'll be on track to go an RN. The trouble is deciding which certification to earn. This decision largely depends on what fits your life at this time. Many nurses choose to earn an ADN in order to enter the workplace sooner with the option to enroll in an RN to BSN plan afterwards.
Labor and delivery RN Mary Thompson says the infirmary she works at prefers labor and delivery nurses to accept a Available of Science in Nursing (BSN). "You tin can apply if you have an ADN; still, you would be required to get a BSN within a set number of years determined by the hospital," Thompson explains. Your best bet is to bank check with the hospital you're interested in and talk to labor and delivery nurses in your surface area to see what their specific requirements and preferences are before choosing your educational path.
2. Reflect on why you lot're interested in this surface area
There are so many reasons to go a labor and delivery nurse. From experiencing the joy of a new life to being a major source of back up for a new, soon-to-be-mom, you're convinced labor and delivery is the place for you. The harder function is disarming a potential employer. Taking some time to reflect on why you're so interested in the function and what has led yous to that, can help keep y'all motivated while taking tough classes similar chemistry and beefcake, and volition also help you lot reply interviewers' questions. The more you reflect and talk about your passion, the more than natural speaking about information technology will become and in an interview that but might button yous over as the top candidate.
three. Consider investing in continuing didactics courses or boosted training
Just because yous've acquired a nursing degree and passed the NCLEX, doesn't mean the learning is done. Going above and beyond to learn specialized certification and accept extra courses can help set up y'all to become a labor and delivery nurse.
Thompson says boosted continuing education courses may allow you to obtain a certification, which helps show potential employers that labor and delivery is where you lot desire to be. The Association of Women'south Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) offers courses to help you prepare for certification examinations, including:
- Fetal Heart Monitoring
- Critical Care Obstetrics
- Post-Birth Alarm Signs
These classes don't always come inexpensive, so it's worth information technology to inquire whether the hospital or hospitals where you're applying will assistance foot the beak. "I have never paid for a form out of my ain pocket that was a requirement for my job," says Amanda Cotter, labor and delivery RN.
4. Shadow a nurse
You lot tin carry informational interviews and acquire some extra education, but there's zero more valuable than having a front end-row seat every bit medical staff assist both mother and baby with the miracle of childbirth. By shadowing a labor and delivery nurse and spending fourth dimension "on the floor," you lot'll gain a new perspective of your future career. Not only is this a great learning experience, information technology can exist a huge confirmation that you're pursuing the nursing specialty that's right for you.
"I would encourage a shadowing experience and completing capstone in that department," Cotter says. "So much can be learned in those experiences!"
Attain out to any nurses y'all know well enough and whose hospitals encourage their staff to take on observers. Or feel free to reach out to a hospital'southward HR section for contacts and necessary paperwork. If you lot have the time, many hospitals accept on volunteers in various departments, which can be a smashing style to build up clinical hours and testify your interest on your resume.
v. Join relevant associations
Consider joining the Association of Women's Wellness, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses or the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). These associations offer valuable resource, education and events that will support you in your career. Your participation will likewise indicate to your time to come employer that you're devoted to this facet of nursing.
Specialty nursing associations similar AWHONN tin besides be a great identify to network with beau L&D nurses and gain opportunities for personal and professional development—both of which could aid you with job advancement and leadership opportunities down the route.
What to await as a labor and delivery nurse
Now that you're more than familiar with the path to becoming a labor and delivery nurse, let'south take a closer look at what the bodily job entails.
1. Be prepared for on-the-job training
Anticipate some intense on-the-job training once you've achieved your nursing degree and landed your dream job. Since many nursing programs don't dig deep into specialties, nigh of your specific labor and delivery nursing schooling will likely come in this form. This may as well include formal specialty courses, similar fetal centre charge per unit monitoring.
"My training was virtually half-dozen months on the job. Even after formal grooming was completed, I continued to take a mentor to utilize equally a resource," says Amy Hightower, MS, RN.
Cotter echoes the importance of this experience, maxim: "I would say 90 percent of what I do and know came from on-the-job preparation—and I'g nonetheless learning!"
2. Don't be intimidated past challenges
Just like whatsoever career, being a labor and delivery nurse volition stretch and challenge yous. Fetal monitoring is one such challenge that's unique to labor and commitment.
"Fetal monitoring is challenging because it is a unique situation where you are watching a patient that you lot cannot physically run into," Hightower says. Though these and other challenges will arise during your time as a labor and delivery nurse, it'south important to persevere and learn from hard situations without becoming discouraged.
iii. Find your inner strength
Labor and delivery nursing is not ever the warm fuzzies of watching a mother see her newborn for the first time. There are elements of the job that tin be loftier-stress and truly heartbreaking. But if you're confident in your inner strength, labor and commitment is likely just the identify for you lot.
Thompson describes the work environment as high-adrenaline, high-stress and fast-paced. "Y'all have to be able to switch gears very quickly," she explains. "You must exist able to work well with your co-workers and exist able to advocate for your patient."
Life as a labor and commitment nurse isn't e'er easy, but there'due south no dubiousness information technology's a rewarding and impactful career. How do you get into this unique nursing specialization?
Accept the first step
Now that you know what goes into becoming a labor and delivery nurse, it's time to take the start step toward your dream: becoming a registered nurse. If you're withal not sure which degree path is the best fit for your nursing career plans, bank check out our commodity "ADN vs. BSN: Your Guide to Help You Make up one's mind on a Nursing Degree."
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally published in 2016. It has since been updated to include information relevant to 2019.
Source: https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/nursing/blog/becoming-labor-and-delivery-nurse/
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