“I’d love to volunteer here, but I don’t have any OB experience.”
“What can a nurse do here if I haven’t been trained to scan?” 
“I know I’m a nurse, but I’d rather be an Advocate because I’m uncomfortable with how to handle a nurse consultation.”
“I know how to respond in the Labor and Delivery setting but not sure what I should say here in the clinic setting.”
As the Nurse Manager of a busy Pregnancy Medical Clinic, these are all responses I’ve heard from nurses who were currently serving or desiring to serve in the PMC. Some had been volunteers at the clinic in a different role for years and others were new volunteers who had heard about the clinic from their friends or their local church. These nurses had hearts to serve and time to give, but weren’t sure how their skill set could fit into the organization.
They might have remembered from their schooling that “nurses accept or reject specific role demands and assignments based on their education, knowledge, competence, and experience…” and “when the needs of the patient are beyond the qualifications or competencies of the nurse, that nurse must seek consultation and collaboration from qualified nurses, other health professionals, or other appropriate resources” as well as, “educational resources should be provided by agencies or organizations and used by nurses to maintain and advance competence.” (Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements, American Nurses Association, 2015.) As a result they were justified in not accepting an assignment they knew to be inappropriate based on their current knowledge, competence and experience. They felt frustrated over the desire to help, but not being properly equipped to do so. Frustrated and underutilized volunteers don’t tend to stay long.
Knowing that most days at the PMC meant barely accomplishing the routine nurse manager duties, let alone building the appropriate course with the curriculum to help these nurses utilize their desire and potential, left me frustrated as well. Also knowing that year after year nurses rate the most trusted profession in America based on their honesty and ethical standards, meant fully utilizing them in the PMC seemed crucial to our mission. These nurses could be such an invaluable part of our team! Just think of how many lives they could touch! Not to mention the managerial duties I could focus on with an expanded nursing team.
Now the newest member of Sparrow Solutions Group, I am thrilled that we can offer a solution to this issue. The Fundamentals of OB class is a 10-hour continuing education course that equips nurses for the special and unique mission in the PMC setting. Nurses will learn the basics of pregnancy, fetal development, contemporary choices and decision making, informed consent, the reality of STI’s, using care plans in the PMC, reproductive health and minimizing liability.
Kari Haug
Director of Nurse Operations, BSN, RN
Sparrow Solutions Group
You must be logged in to post a comment.