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Kaitlin Williams

Professor Collins

ENGL 1301

24 September 2017

Labor and Delivery Nurse

A labor and delivery nurse is a highly trained nurse who assist pregnant woman

throughout early labor, birth, and the immediate postpartum period. Labor assisting nurses have

been used since the middle ages to help expecting mothers throughout all aspects of childbirth.

The career of a labor and delivery nurse will be reviewed based on educational requirements,

salary, expectations, and demand to determine if this is a realistic career choice.

Before becoming a labor and delivery nurse there many different educational routes that

can be taken to fulfil the requirements to enter this career. The lowest level of education required

will be an associates degree. This degree provides clinical, general nursing, and patient care

courses. A bachelors degree is the most highly recommended degree, this program well prepares

future labor and delivery nurses for graduate-level training according to learn.org. Following a

bachelors degree all states require licensure passing the National Council Licensure

Examination-Registered Nurse as claimed by Learn.org. The average amount of schooling

needed is four years, this gives each student the perfect amount of time to learn every element

they will need to know in their career.

The median salary for a labor and delivery nurse is $65,470 and thirty-one dollars an hour

confirmed by Nurse.org. They are known for working unusually long shifts lasting from eight

hours to twelve hours or possibly more due to labor being unpredictable. This can push most
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nurses in this field into overtime. Overtime is when an employee exceeds over the forty hour a

week limit and will receive time and a half pay for the hours they work after the maximum limit.

Meaning that nurses receive the chance to earn more than the median due to overtime. Another

factor that can affect salary is seniority. This is when the longer an employee works for a

company the level of experience is heightened allowing this employee to request a higher

amount of pay. With bonuses and overtime the total annual compensation for labor and delivery

nurses could reach $83,171 a year as reported by Nurse.org. This career receives great pay

considering the amount of schooling in which is required to enter that career, and there is also a

large margin to continuously increase their pay which is a great benefit.

Labor and delivery nurses are expected to care for woman and their infants during labor

and childbirth. Specific duties include monitoring the fetal heart rate and the mothers vital signs

to ensure that both are in no danger during labor. Measuring the strength and timing of

contractions is also a crucial duty because the results are used to measure how far into labor the

mother is. According to Villanovau.com a labor and delivery nurses job is not to personally

deliver infants, but to assist doctors with inducing labor, couching the mother during the

delivery, and assisting with procedures such as Cesarean sections. They also play a crucial role

in a newborns life by performing certain tests, and also help the mother during recovery and how

to care after a newborn as stated by villamovau.com. When entering this career, it is important to

consider the expectations that are required. There is an extensive list of duties that is involved,

but being able to be a part of the process of bringing a life into this world is extremely rewarding.

The demand for labor and delivery nurses is expected to increase by sixteen percent from

2014 to 2024 according to Bls.gov. This increase stems from the higher demand for nurses

needed to care for increasing amounts of patients around the country. Another element that is
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expected to increase the demand for labor and delivery nurses is the recent influx of accessibility

to health insurance. As the demand has increased in the last several years the number of new

nurses entering the field has also increased drastically. This this has caused the competition in

some areas of the country to rise stated by Bls.gov. So to avoid this competition be aware that

employers will be examining candidates based on levels of education and experience. For as

long as woman will bear children this career will be in demand ensuring job openings in

hospitals and birthing centers.

The career of a labor and delivery nurse was reviewed considering requirements, salary,

expectations, and demand. While the salary for this career is quite high, but the unstable hours

could make this job difficult for some people. The constant demand is also a tremendous

positive, but the extensive expectations could disinterest some from this career. Taking in all

factors of becoming a labor and delivery nurse the extensive work it takes may turn some away

from the career, but for those who can push through will benefit from a highly realistic career

choice.
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Works Cited

Labor & Delivery Nurse. Nursing.org, www.nursing.org/careers/labor-delivery-nurse/

Labor & Delivery Nurse. Villanovau.com, www.villanovau.com/resources/nursing/labor-

delivery-nurse-job-description/.

What Are the Requirements to Be a Labor and Delivery Nurse? Learn.org -,

learn.org/articles/What_Are_the_Requirements_to_be_a_Labor_and_Delivery_Nurse.ht

ml.

Summary. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,

www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Registered-nurses.htm#tab-6.