Antepartum Nurse

Who these nurses care for

High-risk pregnant patients admitted before delivery — preterm labor, preeclampsia, placental issues.

What the shift actually looks like

High-risk pregnancies admitted for days or weeks. Monitoring is frequent, the clinical picture changes slowly, and the psychological support component is larger than most nurses expect.

Credentials and certifications

Typically required

BLS, NRP; fetal monitoring

Typical ratio

Typically 1:3 to 1:4

What to specify when you send the req

Gestational age range, monitoring frequency and whether the unit converts to L&D coverage.

Why this role is hard to fill

Frequently staffed by L&D float rather than dedicated nurses, which changes what experience you can realistically ask for.

What candidates ask before accepting

Answering these in the req itself shortens the process considerably, because they are the questions that otherwise surface at offer stage and cause declines: Gestational age range, monitoring frequency, and whether they will be floated to L&D.

Contract or permanent?

Contract for census swings, leave coverage and seasonal surge. Per diem to protect ratios without expanding core FTE. Permanent when the seat is structural. The expensive mistake is running contract labour for eighteen months on a role that was always permanent.

Licensure

Registered nursing is covered by the Nurse Licensure Compact in most of the country, so a multistate license lets a nurse work across member states without a new application. Thirteen jurisdictions sit outside it — Alaska, California, DC, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands — and in those markets every out-of-state nurse needs a single-state license first. Those are the markets where reqs stay open longest.

How we work this req

Every candidate is spoken to before you see them, with licensure for your state, certifications and unit-specific competency confirmed before submittal. We screen to the credential the unit actually needs rather than the title on the posting. Rates sit inside the ranges on our published cost breakdown.