The market is genuinely thin
Fewer clinicians hold current obstetric competency than any comparable inpatient specialty, and the ones who do tend to stay where they are. Expect longer timelines and plan earlier.
Home / Specialties / Labor & delivery
You cannot borrow a labor nurse from another unit
Most units can absorb a short shift by floating someone competent. Obstetrics cannot, and that makes L&D one of the least forgiving gaps in the building. We staff labor, postpartum, antepartum, and NICU with clinicians screened against your delivery volume and your NICU level.
VolumeScreened against annual deliveries
Fetal monitoringCertification confirmed
OR circulatingFor C-sections, verified
Same dayUrgent requests answered
Why this one is different
Obstetrics is a closed competency
There is no adjacent unit to pull from. A med-surg nurse cannot cover labor, an ICU nurse cannot cover labor, and the internal float pool that solves most shortages does not solve this one.
Volume changes the job
A unit delivering 400 babies a year and one delivering 4,000 require different reflexes. We screen against your annual volume rather than the label on the unit.
Scope creeps quietly
Many postings say labor and delivery but expect circulating for C-sections, recovery, and newborn care. If the scope is broad, say so and we will screen for all of it.
Verification
What we confirm before submittal
Obstetric screening carries direct patient safety weight, so none of it is taken on trust.
- Recent L&D within 12 months — with annual delivery volume of the previous unit stated.
- Fetal monitoring — AWHONN or equivalent certification confirmed, not assumed from experience.
- Certifications — BLS, ACLS, and NRP current for every submitted clinician.
- OR circulating — verified where your unit expects C-section circulating, since many do.
- Scope worked — labor, postpartum, antepartum, triage, and newborn care confirmed individually.
- Licensure — active state or compact, with status shown if an application is pending.
- Intake
Annual deliveries, NICU level on site, scope expected, and ratio practice.
- Screen
Clinical interview covering fetal monitoring, emergencies, and OR circulating.
- Submittal
Profiles stating delivery volume and verified scope, so the comparison is direct.
- Start
Credential file before day one, with expiry tracking active.
Commercials
Thin markets price differently
Obstetric rates sit above general medical-surgical for a straightforward reason: fewer qualified clinicians exist and they are not cross-trainable on short notice. That is supply, not opportunism, and we will show you the market number rather than assert one.
- Plan earlier than you would for med-surg, because the qualifying pool is smaller everywhere.
- Rate card held for the term, by specialty and market, exceptions in writing.
- If the rate is why the role is open, we tell you, because leaving an obstetric gap open is the worst outcome on this page.
- Conversion priced up front as a declining fee based on hours worked.
Client FAQ
Before you post the L&D requisition
Scope, volume, and why obstetric timelines run longer.
Because the competency is closed. There is no adjacent specialty to recruit from, so the pool is limited to clinicians already working obstetrics. We will give you an honest date at intake rather than an optimistic one you will plan against.
Where verified, yes, and we confirm it separately because many labor nurses do not. If your unit expects it, say so at intake and it becomes a screening requirement rather than a surprise.
Yes, screened by NICU level. Level II and Level III are materially different assignments, and we confirm which the clinician has actually worked rather than accepting the general label.
Only within the service line. An obstetric pool spanning labor, postpartum, and antepartum can work well. A general hospital float pool will not cover labor, and designing one as though it will is a common and expensive mistake.
Those fill faster than labor because the pool is wider. If your real gap is postpartum, posting it as labor and delivery narrows your candidates unnecessarily.
Tell us the volume and the scope
Annual deliveries, NICU level, and whether the role circulates for C-sections. We come back with clinicians screened against all of it.