Has anyone here had to do clinicals in OB

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Im a nursing student and I am starting clinical with postpartum patients. I really dont know what to expect becuase OB is completely new to me, especially being a guy. What has your experiences been with new mothers? any advice?

PS. I am a first year, second semester student

Hey guys,

I had my first week in L&D and it wasn't as bad as I thought. In fact I got to see some very interesting things, got to sit in on a cesarean section and a tubal ligation as well as hang out with the CRNA for a majority of the day (which was awesome because that's what I want to do.) The nurses were really nice and apparently there is actually 1 guy nurse on the floor. But one thing I did notice was the whole male doctor vs male nurse stereotype... my pt wouldn't let me put in a foley (which i've done a couple times on women) but did let the doctor go arm deep... it may have also been because I was a student.. but still its a weird double standard... anyways to any other guys who are going into OB rotation, don't sweat it, its not too bad. I would just say to make sure you pay attention in class, act like a sponge while you are there, and don't let the female nurses intimidate you. Relax, its only a few weeks :)

Specializes in Hospice, Rehab.

Just finished up my OB rotation and I had a great time. :rollI was expecting some man-hate and patient refusals, but there wasn't much of that. I think it was because I was in a hospital with outstanding nurses, many of whom were clinical instructors for other programs. Only thing I didn't do was the actual lady partsl exam, but checked plenty lochia and sutures. Dudes, you don't have to be female to realize that an episiotomy hurts. Owwwwww.

What makes me interested in OB is that there are times when you're doing what's really critical care. Mommies do go south. Same with the little baby humans. So I found myself more "on alert" that I thought I would be. My one post partum go to the point where she needed blood products, despite that she'd only been bleeding nominally. I think that OB could be a very interesting field.

Now what I didn't enjoy much was circumcision time. Even there, I saw that the procedure is done humanely. I still don't think its a good idea to chop off the tips, but it was important to those families. I was very surprised to see that the babies generally didn't react to the lidocaine blocks or the procedure as much as being tied down or prepped.

I gotta agree that it's how the nurse sells the idea of a student to the patient that makes all the difference. My nurses were all "I have a student with me" and in a few cases I was sent in to introduce myself. Even the one patient who didn't want me in for the delivery (a Muslim) was willing to let me examine the baby later. The other refusals came from just being too many students in the room.

As I see it, just remember you're treating patients, not genitals. I made eye contact a whole lot and if I didn't need to be looking at the genitals, I looked at the computer, monitor, or family. If you know what you're doing and project some confidence, you'll get a lot out of the rotation.

OldPhatMC sends.

Just got done with OB clinicals, I saw a few c sections, and one lady partsl delivery, a few ladies didn't want males in for them, I don't want to see another anyways, one was enough. Staff was cool though, didn't have any problems.

Specializes in Emergency, Trauma, Flight.

i went into my OB clinicals not knowing what to expect.. i was of course scared, being a male, but after the first day and massaging my first fundus, i had a good time and it ended up being one of my favorite rotations.. the staff was great, the pts were great, the babies were great.. all in all, i had a good time, then again, my clinical instructor was awesome!

beware of the student nurse and the first lochia check!!:devil:

hahahah.. have fun.. and enjoy witnissing a very special moment in a mothers life.. bonding w/her newborn.. it is a beautiful thing..~

Here, in the philippines you as a student nurse gets alot of OB rotations specially in the Delivery Room because weve got cases to complete before we can take our NLEX here in the country.Then you get assigned to OB Wards where alot of moms delivered or some whom they missed their babies.Its agreat rotation coz moms that have been assigned to me listen's to all the important health teachings bein in the stage of post-partum etc.

Specializes in ER, Clinical Informatics.

Hey all, I agree that it can be VERY uncomfortable but it all depends on the staff at the facility that you are at. I was bored just reading the Fetal/Maternal Monitors and noticed that the fetal HR was tachy...well next thing you know, the docs are doing a CrashC and I'm caught right in the middle! Was fun and it seems that I earned the respect of the facility for my class. So far I've only done 2 days in OB and have already been invited in to witness 3 lady partsls and that last C. All of this and I still have another 5 weeks to go!

Specializes in ICU/ER.

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I hate to say it bro, but I just finished my OB clinical, I have never been so dispassionate about a learning experience in my life. My first experience was helping deliver a 22 week still birth fetus, nothing like setting a good tone for a 6 week clinical eh? Then I was refused to go into 5 (no exaggeration) rooms because I was a male. I even tried to play the "What about male doctors?" card but to no avail.

In fairness, 3 out of the 5 were devout muslim couples and I had no problem at all with honoring their wishes, I mean in good times and in bad sometimes you only get joy or relief from pain when you pray, so who am I to tell them they have to set aside their religion for 6 hours out of their life just so I can get my time in.

I assisted with a live lady partsl birth and I felt no "Magic" about it, it was another surgical procedeure to me, just like the C-Section to follow.

Get through it, move on, get your degree!

Good Luck

relax it was one of my best clinicals

Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

I went through L&D & postpartum in the 80's

No problem, no attitudes. My instructers' attitudes were "they probably have all had male doctors examine them at one time or another, so it shouldn't be an issue with the nurse."

I know I irritated one instructor when I respectfully declined to go in and observe the wonder of birth. I'd already seen several in that rotation & I thought it better if I covered for another student who had gone allday w/o a lunch break.

Plus, I'd already seen my 2 sons born. Nothing could top that.

Specializes in Cardiac/ED.

I just finished my second day of L & D rotation and am sorry to say that I have to go back. I had a C section yesterday and it went well, great parents and motivated to give to the teaching enviroment, this is when it started to go bad.

My CI shows up while I am in recovery with this patient and tells me that a patient is about to deliver, and that I should poke my head in and ask the nurse if I can observe. Unfortunately, the Doctor is one of the those control nuts that had a fit about me "coming in the room" with delivery in progress. Mind you that I opened the door about 8inches to ask and did not put any part of my body in the room. The nurse came out and proceded to jump all over me for it with my instructor standing right there taking the blame for it (great CI). The nurse never even looked at her but continued to tear into me about it.

The next morning (today) during report it was brought up again by the day shift charge about the so called "incident" the previous day and that we should not let that happen again. I spoke up and apologized again and stated that I had only done what I was told and was not familiar with this particular doctors issues with observers. Thats when another nurse pipes in with that no one should enter the room with labor in progress and that its to late to request a observe. Another nurse jumped to our defense saying that Resp therapy, ACLS, and Lab just to name a few enter during that period so why should the students be different. The main insulting nurse goes "Well those individuals have a purpose" Mind you my tongue is bleeding I'm biting it so hard! Third nurse jumps in with fact that nursing students have a purpose too! I later thanked the 2 nurses for defending us(me) and that I really appreciated it. This all went down with about 10 nurses in the report room. I was so embarrassed and angry to say the least. I then spent the next 8 hours standing around waiting for a delivery...I finally thought that I had one but the nurse "forgot" to ask before if I could view the delivery so with legs in stirrups of course said no...especially since I am not a nursing student I am a "MALE" nursing student...I wanted to thank her for the great sell on that one (bite tongue again).

I hope this group of nurses think back on this moment the next time they get called in to work on their day off because of staff shortages and know that a potentially great nurse (me hopefully) will never take up that specialty! To my CI's defense, she felt so bad for me and just kept telling me that all I have is a few days left, I have High risk maternity next week but I have to get pulled for another day to LD for that observation. I must admit that I did enjoy Post Part, the nurses there really made an effort to make us feel comfortable. One Nurse on post part even went so far to tell my CI what a good job I was doing and to compliment my bedside manner.

I feel at this point that Nurses forever will be divided by a male or female indentifier before the word nurse as long as we allow/encourage it to happen. Professionalism, expertise, and espirit de corp are our only chances to raise ourselves above this petty issue. What I would have given just to have been considered just a "Nurse" even by my so called peers!

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Psqrd, I'm sorry that you had a hard day. Sounds like you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It also sounds like the staff is a bit divided on the student's role. I would not get too overly analytical about nursing as a profession and take it for what it was: a unit that's unorganized and divided. Hopefully, it was a learning experience for the CI and they can talk to management to avoid future embarrassment.

Your clinicals sound a bit disorgnized as well. In our clinicals we followed a patient, rather than hang around waiting for a delivery to happen. We had a laboring patient assigned at the begining of the day, if she delivered, we went with her, if not, we were out of luck and didn't get to see a delivery. The first day my patient didn't deliver, and the 2nd day she did. I was lucky though one student had a nurse midwife for a patient who asked if a couple of other students wanted to observe her delivery for the learning experience and I got to observe that one even though she wasn't my patient.

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