The postpartum nurse is caring for a patient who received a saddle block during delivery… Also, treating each other well...ex. Are there lots of times when PP seems like cake? When I've worked PP, I've been the flipping boob fairy for *hours* of my shift in one room, breaking my back, thanks! I think that helped improve the relationship as well. I coded more people working in a community health center(!) Only our in-house pool staff members go back and forth regularly. And, I hope that what you posted here is out of your frustration, and isn't how you come across at work. So don't lecture me on the few good nurses, I am speaking on the PP nurses as a whole, and where I work specifically. Maybe this is specific to the hospital I work in but it's been that way for as long as I've been doing this...10 years now. As for L&D being slow...it's a rare occaision where I work with all the scheduled inductions and c/s everday. Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion. From a PP point of view, I appreciate having the paperwork complete--the med rec filled out and signed, the orders taken care of, the admission questions asked and answered, etc. I stand by what I said, PP is less demanding than L&D and that is a fact. They also have the ability to pull from Med/Surg which we can't do. This "I am a better nurse than you are" mentality is ugly. Before you think I don't know what PP nurses actually do, I've worked both units and let me tell you PP is infinitely less demanding than L&D, so own that and have some understanding and respect for the nurses that are working harder than you and cut them some slack. Again when even the doctors are hesitant to transfer patients there for lack of good nursing care there is a problem. Mother/Baby RN-Desire to become a Lactation Consultant-Considering CLC to start? BEAUTIFULLY STATED, TABLEFOR9!!!!!!!:redbeathe:nurse::redpinkhe. I absolutely ENJOY what I do, and for nurses who want to look down on me and think as ignorantly as you do, kiss this!!! It's natural for each area to feel that they are the ones who make a difference for the patient, but the truth is we all do. Are there times when the L&D is dead as Moses and not a soul is in? Was I sitting on my behind, NO! Education requirements are nearly identical for both specialties. If everyone were good at L&D or postpartum, no one would be able to talk therapeutically to actively hallucinating people with schizophrenia, nor start IVs on a preemie, nor teach people with diabetes how to manage their insulin. My name is Sarah and I have been a postpartum nurse for about a year. Postpartum nurses do all of this, and usually with 6 patients. They also have the ability to pull from Med/Surg which we can't do. Point out the positives of BOTH units....both equally valued and unique. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for registered nurses including labor and delivery nurses … Yes. This is not a contest of whose skills are more advanced, whose nursing care is more intense, nor whose job is harder. But for mercy's sake don't take the suffering martyr position. Opportunities: Labor and delivery nurses mostly work for hospitals. Since 1997, allnurses is trusted by nurses around the globe. Postpartum in many ways felt like the "stepchild" in OB. Labor & Delivery Nurse Vs. Operating Room Nurse. As a labor and delivery nurse, you would not be delivering the baby. Work to bring more education, drills, re-orientation, whatever to your unit. I was one of the few nurses who worked on both units at both hospitals...the first, starting on PP and crosstraining to Labor...the second, starting on L&D and then upon going PRN, working both units. If you didn't choose active labor then you don't know what Labor and Delivery is like. Cross-training & floating between units fixes this, I think. That was my observations at least. I would love to hear from L&D nurses and postpartum nurses on how the relationships are between your units. There are PP nurses who take forever admitting patients to the unit, but don't bunch us all together! I like to make sure my current patients are medicated and feedings are done or in progress. You sound like a baby sitting in a poopy diaper:crying2:....what are you gonna do to make things better at your facility? While in the next room, there was a late PPH, while in the next room a mom off mag less than 24hrs, seized. :uhoh3: If you want, you can come sip fancy drinks, get rub downs by hott guys and take a skinny dip in the secret Post Partum pool all the real nurses don't know about; we don't mind!!! Almost *16* years experience & most of it, and currently, in L&D w/ abt 1-2 shifts out of 8 in nursery or dyad care. How about the patients who you KNEW were in absolute pain prior to transfer and you did nothing to comfort her. In both hospitals the relationship between labor and postpartum has been rather nasty. Feeling discouraged: Aspiring L&D nurse/CNM. I work on a 36-bed labor, delivery, recovery, and postpartum unit in the Seattle area. Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow: Labor and Delivery Staff Nurse, University of Washington Medical Center: Labor and Delivery. I stand by what I said, PP is less demanding than L&D and that is a fact. I love labor and delivery, and I love postpartum … That is not looking down upon them, that is a fact where I work sorry to say. I DO deal with unstable patients! The Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow website notes that, while some nursing positions have increasingly moved into a community setting, labor room nurses and postpartum nurses work primarily in a hospital setting. Communication is also key. The Role of a Labor & Delivery RN During the Delivery, Role of a Nurse's Assistant in the Labor Room, Nurse Educator vs. Clinical Nurse Specialist in OB. Also this we need more time to accept a patient is total crap. I would love to hear from L&D nurses and postpartum nurses on how the relationships are between your units. Dont tolerate openly negative attitudes. Then that became mandatory but still the L&D nurses still have to go over to monitor patients or review strips for them. If you want to compare helping a woman breastfeed to helping her push for three hours you are have never been in a demanding delivery, where as I have helped women breastfeed for hours. What the post before me describes sounds very facility-specific. I'm sorry for the facility you work in, and I'm grateful that my PP nurses have had my back EVERY SINGLE PLACE I've ever worked. I have worked at two different hospitals in my 5 years in L&D. Postpartum nurses work with patients who have recently given birth, offering both care and education to help the new mother prepare to care for her baby after she leaves the hospital. Let me tell you something, honey; I am a PP nurse, and I ROCK!!!!!!! There are a lot of good mother/baby nurses there, on all shifts. OB nurse is a generic term that encompasses all aspects of pregnancy - labor and delivery and postpartum/mom-baby (and can also refer to a nurse who works in a prenatal clinic). Well, if we are busy, and need beds turned over, those pts are going somewhere, and where they're going is busy...so cut them some slack. L&D made it clear that the patient needs to rest and most of them will have to go home. Some registered nurses … And no I'm not venting just stating how it truly is where I work. Postpartum nurses, also referred to as mother-baby nurses, specialize in attending to the physical and emotional health needs of female patients along with their newborns after the labor process is finished. L&D got an interpreter who will come along for our admission to help us get her settled, sign consents and order meals. We can be pulled to help them when needed, but when we need help there is none for us so we make due. I have come home physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausted working all three, and my skills have been stretched in all three as well.