Travel Nursing: OB

More than 3.9 million babies were born in the United States in 2014 — and OB nurses were there for the pregnancy checkups, labor, delivery and everything in between.

Whether you’re helping a mother bring new life into the world or comforting one who’s struggling with fertility problems, you can make a big difference as a nurse in this specialty. Find out what it takes to become an OB travel nurse.

Requirements

Experience in women’s health is a must for OB travel nurses, as they assist patients with well-woman exams, provide information about becoming pregnant and preparing for a healthy pregnancy, and help with checkups during and after pregnancy. A few job duties include helping with pelvic exams, collecting urine and blood samples, monitoring patients’ weight, and performing ultrasounds.

OB nurses also work with women currently undergoing fertility treatments and care for those preparing for or having a hysterectomy or other surgery. Teaching teens and adults about physical and sexual health and available contraceptives and medications is an important role as well.

While it can be stressful and the hours can stretch on, OB nurses are critical partners in labor and delivery departments, whether they’re assisting with a C-section, helping with a natural labor or administering medication for an epidural.

For OB nurses who work in a hospital, one of the most rewarding aspects of the job is cleaning, weighing and caring for newborn babies and making their mothers as comfortable as possible after delivery. They also teach new parents about feeding, diapering, bathing and swaddling their babies.

OB nurses work in private OB/GYN offices, hospital birthing centers, fertility clinics and birthing centers in addition to hospital maternity or labor and delivery departments.

Note: Basic life support (BLS) and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) certification, as well as one year of clinical experience, are required for all nurses RNnetwork places.

Education

OB nurses must earn an associate or bachelor’s degree in nursing and pass the NCLEX. While it isn’t necessary, they can become certified obstetric nurses after working at least two years and gaining 2,400 hours of experience in obstetrics by passing the NCC’s inpatient obstetric nursing certification exam. Specializing in perinatal nursing or labor and delivery is also an option; OB nurses have opportunities to work in different practice settings and with different types of patients thanks to their obstetric experience.

See our post on labor and delivery travel nursing for more information — and if you’re interested in traveling with us, check out our open OB travel nurse jobs.