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

Specializes in Cardiac/ED.

How are system is supposed to work is that we get assigned to a nurse and we shadow her but for some reason that has fallen through the cracks for this time. We have 2 nursing care plan reports to do, one on a newborn assessment and the other on a vag delivery. We observe and then get all of our information afterwards for our report which I believe is about 15 to 20 pages afterward-3nandas with each one getting 3 diagnostic interventions 3 therapeutic 3 educational with rationals and evals on all of it. I'm sure its fairly standard stuff. I know your right about the wrong place wrong time...its just that I was filled with anxiety about having to do this and for it to come to realization was a bit much. It was just very frustrating for me to just stand around and wait, and with the first error by my CI i'm not sure how hard she wanted to push it. I did'nt want to wait to the last minute to do this rotation and also the last week has the other male on his LD rotation so its going to be hard to find 2 moms that will allow us to watch. I just wish they would let me go talk to the moms a bit to build that relationship then let the nurse go ask when we are not in the room if it is ok. I know our odds of a yes would improve, and that way I don't feel like I am at the mercy of a nurse that may not support men in that role as I believe that its partly in the way you ask whether you get a yes or no.

Thanks for your support, we need more positive male role models out there. P2

Specializes in 5th Semester - Graduation Dec '09!.
Don't make the mistake I made: instructor set me up like a bowling pin when she asked me: "You're not enjoying yourself here, are you?" Naturally, my knee jerk response was: "No!"

wrong anwser!

Ahhh...thats something I would accidentally do

Specializes in Cardiac/ED.

I actually told her that "I hated it!" there. She told me that she did not blame me, that I was doing a good job and to think about the fact that I only have a couple of days left. I have the best CI a student could ask for, I feel bad for her because she knows that it wasn't my fault and as a OB nurse for years prior to teaching, I think she is a little embarrassed by how the nurses were treating us. I told her that I enjoyed my Special care nursery time and my post partum time...so it's not a complete loss, I am trying not to let it change how I look on those dept and nurses that did treat me well. P2

Specializes in OB.

I am so sorry to read all the bad experiences that male student have encountered in L&D/PP, as I had the most wonderful OB experience, better than all my other clinical experiences, not to mention my OB preceptorship, where I have never had a patient ask me to leave, but several that have asked me to stay, I just graduated Friday and I am ready to embrace my career in OB starting next month, Everyone Keep Looking Up, OB wil hopefully warm up in the near future!

Specializes in ER, Clinical Informatics.
I am so sorry to read all the bad experiences that male student have encountered in L&D/PP, as I had the most wonderful OB experience, better than all my other clinical experiences, not to mention my OB preceptorship, where I have never had a patient ask me to leave, but several that have asked me to stay, I just graduated Friday and I am ready to embrace my career in OB starting next month, Everyone Keep Looking Up, OB wil hopefully warm up in the near future!

I'm glad that you had a great experience ARnS, I'm assuming that you are a male, but the majority of the postings that i have read are pretty identical. When I first posted about 4 weeks ago, I had a GREAT first day, but then all of the sudden, right after i posted that, my WHOLE experience went down the drain. The last time I was in LD, there were 2 other students and myself. Looks like there was a Paramedic student as well. Anyways, It almost felt like i should have continued in EMS since the Paramedic student was getting more attention and better treatment from the RN's! Being a past EMT, I wasn't sure how to react to it.

Either way, when i was ignored (for over 2 hours!!! and they were not even busy!!) and stiff shouldered the last time I was in LD i was forced to report this to my CI. I spent the rest of my Clinicals in Triage and PP. How are men supposed to learn broaden their experience if there are such rude RN's not allowing for men to come into the area?!?! I'm all for Womens equality, but it has to work both ways!!!

Specializes in Med/Surg, ER.

GUYS get over yourself! When it comes to pushing that kid out do you think the mom cares who is in the room? And in most cases isn't the Doctor a male????

Specializes in Hospice, Rehab.
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.... [edit by OldPhatMC]

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 ... [snip]

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!

Dude --- I certainly hope that things get better. As I said above, my rotation was excellent. There will always be man-hate on the floor BUT even the haters know better.

I didn't mind getting refused by some of the moms. I had a really great experience doing EMT clinicals with a multipara mom that was part of a big nursing family. She was excellent. I think the first child is the hardest for the mom to say "yes" to the student in the room. But you're right, it's all in the sell. My clinical instructor was very much into presenting it without mentioning gender. She also was VERY self confident and clearly had control of the student situation. If the CI is not known to the other nurses, is clueless, or seems overwhelmed, the staff nurses will guarenteed shove you out of the way. Essentially, the big beef is between the CI and the staff. In the incident during report, that was NOT your fight, and you should have stayed out of it. You did what you were told and its the CI's problem. Let her/him fight with the staff. Your job is to be there with enthusiasm, interest and wide-eyed wonder. If your CI ain't up to the task, all you can do is zap her/him in the evaluation.

I embrace being called a nurse, and I'm not going to let a few folks in mental ruts back me off. Professionalism includes taking on change with a smile and doing what you dislike as well or better than the stuff you enjoy. That's also the lesson that man-haters, boorish doctors, and other assorted twits need to learn. You can best teach that by being more dignified than them.

Keep rockin'... you're going to see something in L & D that inspires you yet.

OldPhatMC sends.

Specializes in Hospice, Rehab.
GUYS get over yourself! When it comes to pushing that kid out do you think the mom cares who is in the room? And in most cases isn't the Doctor a male????

Hey SOS!

It's not a matter of "getting over ourselves". Far as I'm concerned, seen one fuzzywumpus, seen em all. But we're supposed to be seeing things like vacuum delivery, various presentations, and coaching techniques, etc etc etc with the goal that we have some idea of what we should be doing in that circumstance. So when a patient says no, we don't get a chance to be educated as nurses. That really sucks.

I've always been given the VIP tour by each and every MD I've ever worked with in L & D, but anyone can have a bad day. I expect barking doctors, but I would hope that the staff nurses remember back when they had to go through this and be a little more of an advocate. You're right, most of the docs I've worked with were males. The overwhelmingly female nurses were great too. But the patients, well, they're trying to get a watermelon squeezed through the soda straw, and they're entitled to a little naysaying.

But when you say "get over ourselves", I'm confused. All I want is to see and do what the rest of the students see and do. What should we (male nursing students) be expecting in L & D?

OldPhatMC

Specializes in Cardiac/ED.
Dude --- I certainly hope that things get better. As I said above, my rotation was excellent. There will always be man-hate on the floor BUT even the haters know better.

I didn't mind getting refused by some of the moms. I had a really great experience doing EMT clinicals with a multipara mom that was part of a big nursing family. She was excellent. I think the first child is the hardest for the mom to say "yes" to the student in the room. But you're right, it's all in the sell. My clinical instructor was very much into presenting it without mentioning gender. She also was VERY self confident and clearly had control of the student situation. If the CI is not known to the other nurses, is clueless, or seems overwhelmed, the staff nurses will guarenteed shove you out of the way. Essentially, the big beef is between the CI and the staff. In the incident during report, that was NOT your fight, and you should have stayed out of it. You did what you were told and its the CI's problem. Let her/him fight with the staff. Your job is to be there with enthusiasm, interest and wide-eyed wonder. If your CI ain't up to the task, all you can do is zap her/him in the evaluation.

I embrace being called a nurse, and I'm not going to let a few folks in mental ruts back me off. Professionalism includes taking on change with a smile and doing what you dislike as well or better than the stuff you enjoy. That's also the lesson that man-haters, boorish doctors, and other assorted twits need to learn. You can best teach that by being more dignified than them.

Keep rockin'... you're going to see something in L & D that inspires you yet.

OldPhatMC sends.

I partially agree with you that it was not my fight as I stated, I was told to do it but where I disagree with you is staying out of it once the charge nurse chose to target me personally! You have to picture a 10 by 12 foot room with the charge at the head of the table and I am at the other end standing so as to free chairs for the nurses, when the charge makes this statement and looks directly at me! Oh and with a pause after saying it...thats when the other nurse jumped at the opportunity to put me down even more. I have a great CI and I in no way blame her...she was just trying to get her students the experience needed to meet a educational objectives. I also don't blame her for not taking them to task as she still has several students (one of which is another male student) that need the same experience (hopefully better). I know to look for the multi para, thats where my best chance is but I still have to rely on a nurse to go into the room to ask and as I said earlier its in the sell. My daughter was delivered at this same facility 14 months ago by a male nurse who unfortunately does not work there anymore and when we were handed off to him by the day shift nurse she really talked him up. She told us how great he was and that in fact had trained her! We were sold send him in...and it was a great experience...I was hoping to work with him but alas he is gone.

Oh and to SOS I would love to get over myself, I would love to put this behind me but I can't, not only did these nurses keep bringing it up but I have to go back for more...I will tell you though SOS, I will remember what it felt like to be treated this way and I vow not to do it or tolerate anyone else doing it to someone after my RN is on the name tag.

I'm glad that a few have had good experiences in LD, I am glad but jealous because I know that it did not need to be this way as my Csection demonstrated as it went really well. I love working with new parents, its so exciting because I am a new parent and I love seeing that same excitment that I have. I did really enjoy post part, I love to teach and it was fun to watch that bonding between mom, baby and dad and baby as a new family member is brought into the fold. P2

Specializes in Licensed Practical Nurse.

you will be dealing with many mothers who just had their little bundles, some even the day before. they will usually be relaxing. you check the fundus of the uterus its height will decrease qd and it should be about normal position after 9 days. you ask the mother about lochia, and some women decide to breastfeed, most did when i was in ob clinic. take baby vs, most to all babies will be sleeping. mamas probably gonna watch t.v all day long. its mostly quiet, with some crying and feeding, and diaper changes.

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