I'm currently a CNA, but I'm in the process of going to nursing school, and I 'd love to be an L&D nurse - I love babies and the feeling of helping a mother bring a newborn into this world would be an awesome thing to have. I'm worried that I may have to witness abortions during clinicals. Is this part of clinicals for L&D nurses? I really am opposed to abortion, and I don't think I could witness one even if I needed to to pass clinicals.

During my clincals for my LPN I did not have to witness any abortions. My rotation was at a hospital and I don't think too many of them provide that service. If you end up at a clinic that may be a different story. As far as clinicals go you generally go through everything and then when you graduate and pass the NCLEX then you can pick your specialty. You don't say I want to be an L&D nurse and only do those clinicals. You get exposed to every avenue of nursing. Most places will give you some kind of on-the-job training once you are hired on. Now if you are planning on going on to be a Nurse Practitioner then you pick something like family health or some other specialty but not at the RN level (as far as school is concerned). I also am wanting to become an L&D nurse but I believe you need your RN to do so. L&D and post-partum is where I have found I am the most comfortable, the most at ease. One thing they taught us in nursing school is that no matter your feelings, you must check them at the door. While I may not agree with abortions it is also not right for me to say what is right or wrong for someone else. Everyone deserves quality healthcare regardless of the situation. You have to look at the patient and what you are treating them for rather than just their life choices.

I don't know about abortion clinics. But I worked on a OBGYN floor in the hospital. I had tohelp the nurse prepare this lady for delivery from a abortion. The doctors had pumped the lady up with poisons that are harmful to the Fetus she was having contractions from the medication they were giving her. The lady was carrying a Down Syndrome Child, All I witness was alot of blood, and the fetus came out, it was the size of my hand, the doctor quickly wrapped the fetus in a blue chucks.

We as nurses are not there to judge people and their choices. Women have the right to choose and that is as it should be. You don't perform the abortion, the surgeon does, you simply prep them for the OR, and possibly take care of them afterwards for a short period of time. I was a traveling nurse in the OR for over ten years, in the OR as a staff nurse for more than 28 years and most abortions, whether through choice, fetal demise or incompletes are performed in the Operating Rooms, not in L&D.

In our local hospital the women who chose elective abortions labor and "deliver" on the post partum floor and the nurse is to assist the mom during this process.

I have been an RN for many years, and have never witnessed an abortion. It all depends where you work. As for clinicals in nursing school, there is generally a policy that states you don't need to do something that is against your moral compass. I simply never went to work for planned parenthood, and never had to deal with the abortion issue.

Most OB clinics are generally in the hospital, not in outpatient offices or clinics. I've assisted with a few D&C's in the Emergency Room (yeah, I hate doing them there), but they were either incomplete abortions or missed abortions, not therapeutic abortions. However, I would have no problem assisting with one, even though I personally would never have one. It's not my place to make those kinds of choices for others, or to show even a hint of disapproval. My job is to be as supportive of the patient as I can while giving safe, effective nursing care.

nursingaround: I would even avoid offering advice. Offering advice is a Non-Therapeutic communication technique. Simply offering advice can be interpreted by the patient as either judgemental, or taken as an excuse to allow you to make decisions for them. We have to let patients make their own decisions. As best, we can instruct them of the risks of a procedure, and make sure they are making an informed choice (informed as to the risks, not the moral implications).

That depends on the facility where you work. I would suggest that you talk to the department director before you accept the position if you have concerns or questions. In our L&D, we were occasionally asked to take care of mothers who had made the decision to electively terminate after their babies had been diagnosed with genetic disorders. Some were incompatible with life, others weren't. There were some on our unit who, for moral reasons, didn't feel they were able to adequately support the parents in that decision. Understanding that this was a painful decision for the parents and an emotional time for the entire team, we all worked together to come up with a plan that allowed those nurses to not be required to care for those patients. Often times, they were the perfect caregivers when parents came in with a fetal demise. Even though we are nurses and strive to deliver equal and unbiased care to everyone, we still have hearts, personal moral compasses and are allowed to make personal decisions for ourselves. If you are honest with those around you, you'll often be able to meet the needs of your patients and all of the parts that make up you!