A labor and delivery nurse at Summa Akron City Hospital, Meghan Gilroy, BSN, RNC-OB, CBC, holds certification in inpatient obstetrics as well as being a certified breastfeeding counselor. She explains how by serving as a preceptor she influences the profession and shares her thoughts about the education, and experience that can benefit other nurses who are interested in this role.
Serving as a preceptor for nursing students for the past four years is one way through which I have impacted the profession of nursing. It is a pleasure sharing my knowledge and skills with nursing students looking to work in labor and delivery. I enjoy showing them that sometimes labor and delivery nursing is more than just delivering babies, and that there are a multitude of roles we can play during a twelve-hour shift. Sharing new experiences with them and teaching them how to master skills they will use in their own practice one day brings me joy.
Nurses who are interested in labor and delivery greatly benefit from having a good foundation in medical/surgical nursing. I learned a lot about time management and prioritizing care from my experience as a step-down nurse on a neuro-surgical unit. I also gained much valuable information about various medical conditions in adults that I can still apply to my practice today. My training in ECG monitoring is very valuable to me because I am still responsible for interpreting basic heart rhythms in the OB Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). Summa Hospital is a Level III center for high-risk pregnancies, and I am still challenged daily to use skills I had learned from medical/surgical nursing to care for our patient population.