Nicole Amburgey
Eng-111
Dr. Morris
February 15, 2015
Occupational Profile: Labor and Delivery Nurse
When I chose to become a nurse, the amount of different areas to specialize in was far more than I had imagined. While going through and looking at the options I quickly realized I wanted to help mothers and their children. Luckily for me, there was a specialized field designed just for that. A labor and delivery nurse, or as some know it Obstetrics (OB), has a very joyous and privileged job. This career allows nurses to be a part of the most special time in a family’s life. With that being said, an OB nurses job is very demanding, as well as frightening at times. While looking over a day in an OB nurses shoes, I discovered the amount of education and empathy needed for this area of work. Labor and Delivery nurses have many roles they must master within their job, obtain many different skills, and must go through years of schooling to obtain registered license in this field. Everyday thousands of lives are brought into this world safely and securely. This is made possible by doctors and nurses specialized in OB care. The jobs of these nurses go far more in depth than anyone could ever imagine. According to Kelly “every day is different in this field, the normal daily activities would be to monitor the fetal heart rate, patient’s blood pressure, time contractions, and examine the mother-to-be to make sure there are no abnormalities.” Every woman deals with labor differently. These nurses are to care for the women emotionally and physically. Before labor they educate the mother on what to do, as well as what to expect during the process. While in labor it is the nurse’s job to coach and help with breathing exercises. After labor, the L&D nurse has responsibility for both mother and baby. They educate the mother on breastfeeding and personal care. At some points, the jobs of the OB nurse is as simple as just making sure the mother has a glass of water when she is thirsty. Rapidly, the job could get more difficult and there could be a complication so the nurse must always be prepared for anything. Labor and delivery nurses need to be critical thinkers, this is important because the circumstance are always changing and the nurse needs to be prepared. Compassion and emotional stability are qualities employers look for when they are going to hire. They need to be able to show empathy and handle the worst of circumstances. Organizational skills and detail orientation are important when enter the nursing field because there isn’t time for mistakes when they are dealing with someone’s life or the lives of their loved ones (). Depending on how long the student wants to go to college determines what type of degree they receive. Most nurses go for their bachelors because they get paid a higher rate than if they had an associate. “A