Job Description for OB Nurses
An obstetrics (OB) nurse is a health care professional who specializes in assisting doctors in caring for pregnant women and delivering babies. They often work in the labor and delivery department of hospitals and doctors' offices. Some of the common duties of obstetrics nurses include preparing delivery rooms, preparing and sterilizing instruments, prepping patients, caring for babies immediately after birth, communicating with co-workers and explaining afterbirth care to new parents.
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Essential Job Functions
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An OB nurse performs admitting assessments, reviews histories and develops plans of care. They initiate fetal heart monitoring, interpret fetal heart tones, perform vaginal exams and determine the frequency, duration and intensity of contractions. They also monitor the progress of laboring mothers, interpret fetal heart monitor readings, assist mothers and labor coaches with breathing exercises and pain management techniques, and administer pain medication as ordered. Additionally, OB nurses prepare the birthing room for delivery while observing sterility standards.
Additional Essential Job Functions
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Other essential duties of OB nurses include preparing mothers for elective or emergency cesarean section, providing emotional support for mother and coach, obtaining proper consents and pre-op diagnostic studies, and ensuring a smooth transfer to surgery. The OB nurse also assists the physician with pitocin inductions and monitors the progress of labor. They provide assistance to the doctor in administering spinal or epidural anesthetic and perform immediate post-delivery care of mother and infant.
After delivery, OB nurses apply ID bands, weigh and measure the baby and administer medication to mother and infant as ordered. They instruct the mother in self-care, child care and breast feeding, monitor vital signs and report problems to the physician. OB nurses also document nursing care on charts, birth certificates and computers.
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Secondary Job Functions
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In addition to their essential job functions, OB nurses also perform many secondary duties. These include adhering to principles of infection control in delivering OB care. OB nurses restrict visitation per policy, and enforce policy regarding cover-ups, scrub clothes and hand washing. They assure the housekeeping department adequately cleans the area, enforce isolation policies for mother and infant care, provide infection control instructions to parents and ensure routine cleaning by nursing staff while practicing excellent sterile techniques.
Additional Secondary Job Functions
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OB nurses assure proper consent for birthing rooms and support persons in the birthing room. They keep computer statistics current, schedule special services such as custom meals, restock medications and supplies, and ensure the safety of newborns. These nurses must be skilled in and maintain current licensure in BLS (basic life support), NRP (neonatal resuscitation) and CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) techniques. They must also have knowledge of specialized OB equipment, instruments and procedures.
Outlook
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It is estimated that by the year 2020 there will be a shortage of about 800,000 nurses. There are currently about 100,000 vacant positions in nursing, causing some hospitals to offer five-figure signing bonuses to experienced candidates. This presents excellent employment opportunities for this highly-regarded profession.
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- Photo Credit birth of a baby image by Steve Lovegrove from Fotolia.com
