Open Letter to Medical Students

This is a open letter to all Medical students thinking about a career as an OB/GYN from a L&D nurse.

Please think long and hard about your decision. Consider all of the factors that there are to consider. Do not be swayed easily into this profession by beautiful bellies and babies; because if you are, you may end up regretting your decision for a long, long career. Your happiness and that of the nurses around you demands that you think LONG and HARD about the realities of being an OB/GYN.

Some of these realities include:
- Pregnant women - AKA your patients - have babies at ALL hours of the day and night.
- You will be expected to be on call during ALL hours of the day and night.
- When pregnant women - AKA your patients - come to the hospital in the middle of the night to have a baby it is not because they have an evil plan and were waiting for YOUR night on call to do so.
- When your patient needs orders or procedures nurses are not able to provide alone, you - the doctor - will be called during ALL hours of the night.
- You will be expected to work the day after you are on call all night and your patients will still need things that day - again, there is no evil plan to make you miserable.. they just need medical attention.
- Nurses are not allowed to make treatment and diagnostic decisions without the guidance of a doctor... that is you... and yes, this will happen at ALL hours of the night.
- You are no better or higher of a person than anyone else. You have no right to take out your frustrations with work or lack of sleep on anyone who needs your assistance (including your patients or their nurses) during ALL hours of the night.
- You make significantly MORE money than the nurses you are rude to when they wake you up in the middle of the night.... and YOU decided to choose this profession.
- When nurses order chinese food: watch out. (Yes, they may be the ones with the evil plan....)

Did I mention you will have to work during the night time - and it is not the end of the world?

Just sayin...