LABOR AND DELIVERY

OMG...I definitely want to be a labor nurse. I even like the postpartum and babynursing. I have never been more enthused about coming to work and working for 12 hrs. I did get to see quite a lot during this rotation. I worked with some excellent nurses too.

My first day on the floor was kinda crazy. I was taking a mom and her baby out the door to go home and while I was fumbling with the car seat they called for an emergency c-section. When I got back to my floor there was nobody to be found. When I finally got the go ahead to go back to the section things were still not looking good. Baby was out but it wasn't breathing. It had been nearly 3 min. I felt like a knot on a log because I didn't know how I could help. They sent me to find the other nurse who stayed on the floor with the rest of the patients and had me get some Narcan. When I got back with the med, baby was doing fine. Whew! I did not want to experience death my first day. Whe we took the baby back to the nursery we had to suction so I got to insert the NG tube and suction. The nurses had to draw ABG's which wasn't easy. It took 4 nurses to get the job done. The baby was a level 2 baby so we kept him in the nursery for the rest of my shift.

The rest of the day went smoothly. I got to "babynurse" a few babies. For those of you who don't know what that is it is when the baby is delivered it has its own nurse who does all of the stimulating and warming. They also do all of the measuring and weighing and the APGAR's at 1 and 5 min. The baby will also get its first meds.

During this rotation I got to see circs, sections, natural labor, vacuuming, a 15 yr old giving birth, and sadly a fetal demise. I also got to hear my first heart murmur. I become proficient at inserting Foley's, I started 2 IV's, did initial assessments, and triaged a couple of ROL's. I did all of this with a nurse by my side of course. I also got to bathe a newborn and help a mom push for 2 hrs. This was by far the best clinical experience I have ever had even though it wasn't a clincial day. I talked with the person in charge and hopefully I will get to stay on OB when my summer extern program is through. She said that due to the budget she will only have room for 1 or 2. I sure hope I get it because this is definitely the spot for me.

This week I am scheduled for a much dreaded med-surg floor. I am not as excited but I am sure I will learn alot.