RN Mamas

[Disco Infiltrator]

I'm the primary income earner in our family, work 90% day shift acute care at what's basically county. I find that I'm the odd duck out in the RN world with my AP unmedicated birthing extended bfing hippy parenting ways. Oh well. I love being an RN, although it's a hard job. Because of shift work I get to be home with my kids a lot more than if I worked M-F.

Are there any other RN mamas out there?

[Peony]

I'm an odd duck as well. I keep quiet about most of my practices because I work in public health.  I work very part time supervising a breastfeeding program at the health dept, I'm an IBCLC. It works for now because I have multiple small children, I mostly set my own hours, work from home quite a bit, and am largely left alone, but in order to operate like that I have to keep a low profile on what I say or advocate for. I actually do enjoy public health, more then I thought I would when I took this job, and could see doing more work there in the future when children are older. Many of the RNs work for multiple programs because of limited funding or grants. I could never increase my hours in my program because of funding as well, but there is always the possibility of picking up other days in another area. I would have to limit myself, couldn't do vaxs for example! But our dept does a fair amount of prenatal care and then has an interesting program where an RN goes into a home for 3 years and teaches the parents how to parent, that would be up my alley and I could see working AP principles into my teaching quite easily. 

[Disco Infiltrator]

Hi Peony. I always thought I'd really like public health, actually had my instructor ask me to consider doing my masters in it, but I can't get away from my schedule at the moment. My kids are too little and we're considering unschooling them, so I need to keep my flexibility.

[amnesiac]

I worked in public health for several years & enjoyed it. I just started working at an elementary school this year & it has been a great thing. My kids are teens/preteen & my work schedule is perfect considering they attend school also so depending on what you choose to do with your kids it may not be a fit. I'm off all week for spring break this week hanging out with them & I will be off with them all summer. I just do not enjoy hospital nursing & I don't think I could ever go back to it.

[lorijds]

I work nights on a medical floor.  It may be the town that I live in, but there are several "odd ducks".  Women who have had homebirths, extended breastfeeders, people who are very open to alternative medications, treatments, and diets.  I only work with one fellow, and he's a fairly open minded dude, as well.

[mammamo]

**Me, Me** I work in an smallish outlaying hospital in an ICU. My kids are smallish too, 2 and 4. I'm definetely the odd duck, but my MIL is one too, and works home health for the same hossy, so I don't get any slack about it. I def don't see myself doing this much longer, I feel like such a hypocrite at work....throwing away all sorts of things, and wasting stuff...I hate that part about it, and the chronicity of my patients and seeing the same cranky ass COPD patients is really getting to me too.

[BeanSprout Mama]

Me too! I work nights in labor and delivery. I'm definitely the odd one out on my unit sometimes, the majority of my coworkers get dreamy-eyed when they talk about how wonderful their epiduralized, induced births were, or vent about how their patient won't just lay still and let them monitor the baby. I think pretty often about quitting my job honestly, and going into some other area of nursing. I'm the primary income-earner too (my husband is a SAHD) so I have to work and I do like nursing but I feel really burnt out on always defending my choices and the choices of the natural birthing moms who come to our unit. It's exhausting.

[Peony]

Originally Posted by BeanSprout Mama 

Me too! I work nights in labor and delivery. I'm definitely the odd one out on my unit sometimes, the majority of my coworkers get dreamy-eyed when they talk about how wonderful their epiduralized, induced births were, or vent about how their patient won't just lay still and let them monitor the baby. I think pretty often about quitting my job honestly, and going into some other area of nursing. I'm the primary income-earner too (my husband is a SAHD) so I have to work and I do like nursing but I feel really burnt out on always defending my choices and the choices of the natural birthing moms who come to our unit. It's exhausting.

This is exactly why I never ever wanted to work OB in a hospital! I used to work ortho at a small hospital, we shared a floor with OB. They were the half right behind us so we shared the nurse's station, break room, and would help them out answering call lights. I got to listen to many an OB nurse complain about the natural birthers which there actually is a far amount of at our local hospital because of a large CNM practice. I always made me want to run far away when I had my own babies. 

[major_mama11]

I work a night or two per week in a community hospital, in a couple different units. I like the intellectual stimulation of nursing, enjoy the huge variety of patients we get, and like a lot of my coworkers, but I hate the politics of hospital nursing. I do feel like my workplace is improving overall, and DH doesn't make nearly enough for me to SAHM, so I intend to stick around for now. 

It's kind of funny: I live in a fairly conservative area, but there are quite a few nurses who are crunchier than me at work. Several of my coworkers breastfed until toddlerhood or beyond (one until her kid was 5), several are homeschoolers, and some of the L&D nurses are really excited when they get a natural birthing mom. There is wireless monitoring, so moms often wander the halls while in labor. A few of the pp nurses vent behind closed doors about hating the hassle of helping people breastfeed, but they usually just find someone to help who is more into it- I've never seen a pp nurse suggest formula unless mom brings it up herself. I love that it's standard here to do skin-to-skin right away if possible (although as a baby nurse, this freaked me out a bit until I got used to it!), and that c/s moms routinely hold their babies in OR and BF in recovery. Both my babies were born out of hospital, but I intend to have my next at the hospital where I work, if I ever have another baby.

At this point, I can't afford to do anything drastic, but within the next few years, I would like to become a CLC (and maybe eventually ICBLC from there). I really enjoy helping my pts breastfeed, but when I have 5 other patients needing my attention, it is really hard to give anyone the level of attention they need.

Edited by major_mama11 - 3/30/11 at 8:58am

[Disco Infiltrator]

I have thought of going from adult acute care to L&D but I think it's not for me.  I'm really lucky to work at a hospital where nursing has a strong voice and I'm really used to mouthing off to docs who I disagree with, and I feel like I'd be expected to be more subservient in L&D.  Maybe I'm wrong.  I also feel like I'd become indoctrinated and part of the Medical Birthing Machine.  We all get burned out and numbed to our patients.  I do love birth and babies, but I love my cranky old COPDrs and IVDA drug seeking homeless population as well.  Even if they try to hit me every once in a while. 

I've actually thought of becoming a CLC, probably work independently and keep my floor nursing job.  It would be a way to be involved with the birth community but not have to be an L&D RN.

I just got an admit for "bedbugs".  Really?  :)

Oh, and twice in the last month I've had two different docs ask me if I was refusing to do something because I'm scared.  Again, REALLY?  No, not scared. 

Glad to see RNs here.

[mammamo]

Oye, the thought of going into L&D makes me burnt out, lol, I can imagine it'd be frustrating to fight for the natural birthers rights!

Disco- I'm going to Seattle for a family reunion this summer, we love it out there!

[mamacolleen]

Me! I work on a neurosurgery/trauma/acute care gen surg floor (yes, it really does combine all 3 services) at a big urban teaching hospital. I do at times feel like an odd duck. When I was planning a home birth with DD, my co-workers thought I was a bit strange, although no one really said anything to my face. And I have since found out that our rec therapist has had 2 homebirths. Now I can't wait until I get pregnant again and announce that I'm planning an HBAC!

I actually don't love my job right now. The hospital where I work is extremely focused on increasing patient flow, which is done to the detriment of patient care and nursing workload. Nurses on all the floors are really feeling the squeeze and morale is pretty low. I've been doing project work for the last 5 months or so, which has been a nice change, but I return to permanent nights this coming Sunday.

I do like the schedule for the most part as it allows me to be at home for full days with DD during the week and I get to do 'fun' stuff with her. I find it makes child care really challenging though. We have a close friend who's her care provider, which is great because she's really flexible. I don't know how it would work otherwise.

I'm actually seriously contemplating a switch to L+D nursing! I think it might be challenging to hear other nurses not be supportive of natural birthers but I hear a lot of un-supportive terrible comments about some of the trauma patients we have so I can't imagine it being much worse. I would eventually really like to get into primary care, possibly as an NP, and think that getting some womens' health experience in beforehand would be a good idea.

[Disco Infiltrator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamacolleen 

I actually don't love my job right now. The hospital where I work is extremely focused on increasing patient flow, which is done to the detriment of patient care and nursing workload. Nurses on all the floors are really feeling the squeeze and morale is pretty low.

Yeah, we're actually going through a lot of this kind of cr*p as well.  I should say that I love the job of nursing, I hate the politics.  They've reduced our staffing and piled on all this awful customer service stuff that has nothing to do with good patient care and everything to do with increasing our rankings.  They seem to have lots of money to make it look nice around here but they run us short.  It's dangerous.  We have great staff retention and now nurses who have been here 20+ years are talking about leaving.  Your hospital sounds a lot like mine and it's heartbreaking to see it lose focus.  I think once the economy gets better we'll bleed out staff.   

My story of the week - my psych patient found scissors and cut his restraints off.  Whoopee!  :)   

[by-the-lake]

Oy! I work in L&D, have for many a years. Maybe we are more crunchy, def. not subservient to the OB's. Birth plans are part of the medical record, we foster mother-baby care, no mandatory separation, getting the babes to recovery if mom had a section. Not to say we don't have our interventionism or national average c-section/epidural rates either. The way I see my role to laboring mothers and families is to advocate for what they want, not what I want. Love the natural birthers, but am supportive and encouraging if they want an epidural. Its their birth, not mine! Being respectful and offering differing viewpoints is OK, when done correctly. I do love it. Yes, my co-workers think I am 'more natural' but its all good. We are all different.

Great hours, great pay, lots of time at home (I work 3 days/wk).

[by-the-lake]

Sorry I killed the thread. i seem to do that alot on MDC

[Disco Infiltrator]

how did you kill the thread? it's slow in general since we're all workin' women.

My latest adventure was a IVDA pt. who was turning tricks in her room. People amaze me.

[mammamo]

LOL, I was in charge today, sucked, big time. But my  nephews mom was there visiting with my nephew so I got to see the awesome little dude.

[ishereal]

I'm seriously debating if I want to be an L&D nurse because of my more "crunchy" views... decisions, decisions. I may go the cardiac nursing route, the heart is one amazing organ :) 

[by-the-lake]

Being a crunchy L&D nurse is great because I get assigned the natural birth patients!!!!

[mags.bubble]

I am working as a school nurse substitute. Love it. Definately, get a chance to share my crunchy ideas with students & parents. Plus, I couldn't be more flexible. However, the money is sad as a sub. Did cardiac/step down for 5 years. It was hard to leave the hospital, but now I don't think I would go back.