I have been reading all the questions and comments on this page and they have been really helpful to a lot of the questions I have about nursing. I am currently attending Santa Fe community college.
I have always wanted to go into nursing. However, just recently I decided I wanted to go into the specific field of labor and delivery nursing. I’ve talked to some people and looked up a lot of information, but I’m still confused on what steps I should be taking on how to become a labor and delivery nurse! Please help!!
-Yissel
For a video overview of a labor and delivery nurse, listen the video below:
Lana says
September 19, 2014 at 8:01 amHey Yissel,
This is a great question and I know that people have a lot of confusion about it. So I hope to clarify it for you.
First of all, let me begin by saying that a labor and delivery nurse and registered nurse are not two different things. A labor and delivery nurse is a registered nurse that has been trained to work in a labor and delivery unit.
So the first step you need to take is to become a registered nurse. It will take you between 2 to 4 years to do this (depending on if you want to get an associated degree in nursing (ADN-this takes 2 years) or a bachelors in nursing (BSN-takes 4 years).
Here are the differences between ADN vs BSN: https://www.registerednursern.com/adn-or-bsn-nursing-degree-what-is-the-difference-between-adn-bsn-programs/
After you obtain your degree for a nursing program, you have to take the nurse licensing exam known as NCLEX-RN. After you pass this exam, you will be able to practice nursing. Once you have your nursing license, you will need to apply to a job on a OB unit (aka family birth center…labor and delivery unit-both the same thing but some places use different names.
At this job, you will be trained on how to be a labor and delivery nurse. There is no special qualifications to apply to the job-you just have to be a registered nurse. Many people think you have to get a special degree or something in order to a labor and delivery nurse but you don’t.
I hope this was helpful.
Yissel says
October 2, 2014 at 7:50 pmThis answer really helped me thanks very mush!! you rock!