Been an RN for 7 years, was on Neuro unit over 5 years, floating everywhere except woman’s services. Also did pedi hh. Now trying to get in woman’s side, no one will give me a chance. Not sure if bc no experience there or bc not working for 8 mths.
It's probably a combination of both. Not working for 8 months, your skills are a bit 'rusty'. Also trying to come in with NO women's health experience, they'll see you as needing a LOT of education and "hand-holding". There are a lot of people wanting to transfer into this area, so you'll be competing with those who already know the systems and have certifications specific to that area.
I spent the last 35 years of my career in Mother/Baby. LOVED it! I had previously been in critical care and floating wherever I was needed, mostly med-surg and critical care. Floated to maternity one time to fill in for a month for someone who was ill, and at the end was asked if I was interested in full time there. The rest was 'history'. Later moved to another hospital, and was able to get in really easily, due to my experience and they had 3 openings. Pure luck! Worked there for the last 32 years of my career. Retired 1 year ago on Oct 1. I Still miss working with my new moms and babies! The hospital setting .. not so much. Waaay too many changes I wasn't in agreement with, and the last one that was an absolute "no-go" for me, leading me to retire 6 months before I had planned. Grateful and blessed to have been able to do that, and I have NO regrets! I was more than ready to "Pass the baton"!
Having said that, we would get transfers from within the hospital, rarely from outside. It was easier to orient those who already knew the hospital and computer systems. Also we ALWAYS .. still do .. have a waiting list for those in the hospital who wanted to transfer to us or labor & delivery. Transferring to L&D from another department is VERY difficult, at least at my facility. They want you to have at least some M/B experience .. it will be Invaluable in the L&D setting. IF you are looking to eventually be in L&D, be willing to start out on postpartum to gain experience! These two units work Very closely together! They HAVE to! We rely on each other! When one unit is having an emergency, someone from the other unit is ALWAYS there to help! :)
If you want mother/baby, I would start taking some classes for the certifications you'll need .. especially if you've been out of the work force for the past 8 months. You'll have to be able to show you've been actively keeping up to date on things as much as possible while you've been off.
New baby?? (just a guess). If so, Congratulations! If this is the case, USE IT to say how it has helped you decide to want to be a part of the Maternal / Women's unit! What have you learned, what have been the challenges, WHO helped you as a new mom, and how did that affect you and your ability to care for a newborn and yourself? Were your nurses helpful or not .. and if not, what did You learn from that and how would You do things differently. For the ones who did help, be able to say how that made an impression on you and how you will use that experience as a guide in your new role.
Know that many new moms have NO newborn experience, and You will be the one teaching them the very basics of diapers, feeding, what to look for, etc., as well as post-op care for C/S patients, etc. Be able to verbalize that you realize teaching new families is going to be a 'thing' with just about any encounter with your patients and their families. Also know that new moms can be very "hormonal" and how patience and understanding will play a BIG role in your interactions with them, Especially in teaching them some things, such as breastfeeding .. it's a MUCH bigger challenge than most people realize!! It will surprise you, at first, how often you'll walk in and encounter a very frustrated, often tearful mom who is having struggles with breastfeeding .. and exhaustion! Teaching Hint: Never, EVER tell a mom (or new dad) that they are doing something wrong!! They will literally "shut down" and not hear anything else you have to say! "Oh, that's because you're doing it wrong". All they heard was they're doing it wrong. They are being told by family, friends, the outside world, all the things they are doing 'wrong'. We don't need to do that and add to their anxiety. What I do instead, is ... "Oh, may I show you a trick? There's a little trick to this that a lot of people aren't familiar with.. it's kinda cool!" Okay, you know it as 'technique', but to them, it's a 'trick'. My patients Loved hearing that .. and they were MUCH more willing to listen because they weren't doing it 'wrong', they just didn't know "the trick"! They would perk up and be much more invested in what you have to say! At the end, with their newfound success, I'd usually say something like, "see, it's sorta like magic"! Turn tears into smiles and Success! Change One word, and you change the meaning, and the outcome!
Be up to date on your CPR, ACLS not required for M/B, but would be considered a bonus. If you want to transfer at some point to L&D, then ACLS would be a requirement. If you would like to come in and don't have any experience, I would highly recommend taking the NRP (Neonatal Resuscitation) class. It will be required for that department. If you already have it, that 'could' place you in a favorable light over those who don't. Also take as many maternal/newborn classes, CEUs as possible. They'll help with your CEU's but also show you're taking the initiative to learn as much about this branch of nursing as possible before applying. Another one that could certainly help is to take a Lactation Education class .. not the same as Lactation Consultant... which is considered a sub-specialty with certification etc. Whether in M/B or L/D, you'll be expected to assist your new moms with getting breastfeeding established, and having the LE class will help you a lot in this, and another thing that would be viewed very favorably during an interview.
In applying / interviewing, be Very open and straightforward about your past experience, and how you feel it might help you in this new field. Hint: it's Very valuable! You'll pull on that knowledge Much More than you can imagine! Remember, you'll be dealing with regular people who just happen to be pregnant or recently given birth. They will come with a variety of ongoing med-surg type issues ... diabetes, auto-immune issues, allergies, hypertension (usually due to the pregnancy), etc. Be willing to be able to describe what you would do in an emergency situation .. ie: post-partum hemorrhage, eclampsia / seizure, syncopal episode, etc. In my interview when I changed hospitals, one question asked of me was: you just got report and your patient is a C/S on MagSulfate for the past 8 hours following delivery. You walk in and find her in bed, sitting up, staring straight ahead, baby in her arms, then begin to convulse. What do you do? Having been on a high risk unit prior to this, I walked her through the steps I would take, the order of implementation and what protocols we had to address that. She said I was the ONLY one who got that answer right! (and there were 8 applicants!). Be able to say what you would do with an infant emergency as well ..ie, baby suddenly not breathing or found unresponsive. If mom is diabetic, what are you watching for in baby as well? How would you handle (because you will) working with a mom who's baby was stillborn, or died after birth? How would you help her with the grieving process? Or went to the NICU? If in the NICU, what would you do help facilitate bonding and help with communication between her and the NICU? Just a few examples to be aware of. It isn't all "happiness and rainbows". You'll have patients you'll cry with, laugh with and those you'll remember for a lifetime!
Know that it will be a very fast-paced unit, not the "layed-back" type way too many envision. There will be a LOT of steps involved .. walking steps .. LOTS to do, physically, on these units! Those who have floated to our unit almost always remark on how busy we are and that they had no idea that we worked "that hard"! But they loved it and actually have to 'take turns' getting to be the one who gets to float when we need some extra hands! LOL!
I hope I didn't ramble too much for you, so much to learn! Such an exciting place to work! You will NEVER be bored! Good luck and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Research your hospital cooperations for those willing to hire within that area. Units tend to look for experience along the same path but there are those especially if there is a high demand in that area who will hire you. HCA has phenomenol programs within their system that will prepare you for any specialty. Good luck.
