The job of a nurse on any flex team means that you have to be proficient in many different aspects of patient care and complications; this is no different when being a part of the OB Flex team; if anything, it's even harder because of all of the specialized care each of the units covered entails. Our OB flex team here at MercyOne covers so many areas of expertise that they are proficient at two different charting systems, pregnant moms, postpartum moms, normal newborn babies, NICU babies, and even med-surg overflow, all of which can be covered in a single 12-hour shift. This level of knowledge and care is not easy to handle, it takes a strong mind and a very passionate heart to care for all of these types of patients. 

The old saying goes, "jack of all trades, master of none," but this couldn't be less true for this amazing group of women. The unique part of the team is that we each come from a different background that we excelled in and now have built upon that knowledge base to include many different areas. Take for example the nurses who started in just labor and delivery, they have a very critical care and emergency skills set that they can use on other floors such as mom baby to take care of or help with some of the more critical and sick patients. Those who started in our OBED and Antepartum unit are very skilled in triaging and rapid treatment of patients as well as how to treat and help with pregnancy complications. This allows them to help labor get patients admitted and settled as quickly as possible to get further evaluation started so we can treat patients more efficiently and most completely. Then there are those who came from mom-baby. These nurses are very skilled in time management and knowing the ins and outs of babies. It's very helpful to have them on the antepartum side to manage multiple patients at one time and gives other nurses a resource to ask about a baby. These knowledge hubs are helpful to have in different situations and allow better care for the patients because we have the ability to get help and information where and when we need it.

Now, just because you came from a certain area doesn't mean you don't know the other areas as well. Everyday theses nurses are using their vast knowledge to think outside the box and get patients help and resources they need. The ability these women have to jump from one area to another is second to none. They can be laboring a patient one minute to transitioning a baby the next. And just being assigned to one floor doesn't mean they don't do anything else all day. They will bounce around and help when they aren't busy. This is especially true at our west campus. I've seen OB flex nurses assigned to labor coming to mom baby to help with baths or assessments or to give blood. Or go help NICU with their babies when those nurses are dealing with a troublesome new delivery. This group really is the glue that holds the 4 OB related teams together. Having a group with such diverse skill sets has benefited not only our patient care, but also staff satisfaction. Knowing you have someone to call who knows where things are, what to do, and when to do it is invaluable to our teams. 

Each unit in the OB unit of MercyOne is absolutely incredible. Individually, they are amazing groups that take great care of patients every day, but what makes a huge difference between the units is the OB flex team. They knit the teams together into a huge, amazing team as a whole. There is no way our patient care would be as cohesive and complete without the flex team to draw it all together. To these women, nursing isn't just a job; it's who they are. They come to work and might not ever sit down because their patients and nurses need them. No team sees less of each other but still works seamlessly than OB flex. We are so fortunate to have them support the OB service line!