Obstetrics Clinicals SCARE me so much im considering dropping out :(

Nursing Students Male Students

Published

I find myself at very stressful point in my life as Ill be starting my LD/OB clinical rotation next semester. The prospect of what ill be asked to do there terrifies me and I wish I could just pass with the theory part. Ive always been a very awkward guy and intensly uncomfortable in any sort of intimate situation (im straight but im still a virgin but plz dont ask about my age it just never seems to work out and i sure been trying for a long time :( and i think it would prob be topic for another forum) But for me I guess its going to creat a HUGE white elephant in room when ill need to see my patient and make her feel very uncomfortable too as she sees how unconfident i appear. I was rather pushed into nursing out of secure career considerations and am running out of options now quickly. I really want to suceed but dont think i have the psychological strength to suceed in nursing if its what is required of me in clinicals.

Like a few other male students have already posted, I actually found the OB rotation to be enjoyable (my last day is next week). I'm under 25yo, and am by no means an "expert" when it comes to the physical intimacy aspect that you are worried about lacking experience in, so I can identify with some of the concerns you have.

Knowing your way around the female anatomy will be very helpful for performing appropriate nursing skills and doing assessments, so do what you can with your A&P and nursing textbooks to become acquainted. Know what changes her body will have undergone since becoming pregnant or since delivering, so you can best be prepared for what you'll be seeing in front of you. Also, once you're on the OB floor, don't be afraid to let the RN you are working with know that you don't have much experience doing a postpartum assessment- they will more than likely help guide you through it.

When it comes time to care for your patient, take a moment to collect yourself before entering the room. Take a long, deep breath, and remind yourself that you are a professional, there to provide safe and competent care. If you can introduce yourself courteously and can exude a little confidence (look/act like you know what you're doing!), it may help your patient to feel more comfortable. Taking a minute to chit chat with the husband or to coo at their newborn can help you to gain their trust and establish comfort as well.

When performing assessments (L&D and Postpartum), there are a couple ways to minimize possible "awkwardness" and increase patient comfort: 1.) Do the least invasive stuff first! Obtaining VS usually requires close contact and touch, so it's an easy way to jump those initial hurdles. Auscultate over your pt's gown to give them a feel (no pun intended) for your intentions- that you're not diving straight in to examine their breasts or to "check their bleeding". 2.) Involve your patient in the assessment! Ask her to unclip her gown so you can examine the breasts, so it's not you revealing her unwillingly. Explaining what you're doing to your pt while you assess her can relieve tension, just keep it simple and informative.

I would take the "dw, you're not going to be doing anything in OB" advice with a grain of salt, since many nursing programs and hospitals operate differently. I was fortunate to get a lot of hands-on (and some hands-in...) experience. Lastly, don't forget to thank you patient and their family for letting you work with them!! If you can pull everything off without too much nervousness or awkwardness for your patient, they'll probably be more inclined to let another male student work with them in the future.

Hope this is helpful for you in your upcoming rotation and for any other male students that happen to read it!

Well, this thread may have started out as a joke or not but I'll just say this..

lady partss are just another part of anatomy. You have to look at it that way. It's like an eyeball or a foot or a blood vessel. Just a part of the anatomy. If you look at it like that, you'll find it easier to act like a pro. When you act like a pro, your patient won't find it awkward.

So do your best not to giggle when you see a hooha and act like a pro.

Specializes in Oncology.

When I was in nursing school I found L&D to be the absolute best place to practice straight and foley caths--all the patients have epidurals and can't feel anything, so most were game for a student to practice and they didn't care at all!

Specializes in Pediatrics, Cardiology, ER.

The first time I went through L&D was actually pretty fun for me. It was many years ago for my training as a Paramedic. The nurses were kind of standoffish and didn't like men around, but the doctor was great. I got to deliver two babies during my rotation and witness some more thanks to the doctor.

With one of the mom's, I went and talked to her for awhile before the delivery. Getting to know the patient made things a lot more comfortable for me. I got to know her, the husband, several other family members, and her other children.

With the other, she was an illegal and I had to learn a few spanish phrases to help with the delivery.

I get to do L&D again in the spring for my nursing degree. I am sure I will still be a little nervous this time around as well.

I guess i am not sure what being a virgin has to do with anything. There is nothing sexual at all about anything you will do with a clients genitals. After you clean up a few loose BMs from a 90 year olds labial folds or scrotum, you get pretty desensitized. Trust me, there is nothing sexual about it!

Specializes in Cardiac-Thoracic, Med/Surg.

To make things simple, discontinue Nursing school. If you don't have the confidence to perform proficiently and effectively while in Nursing school your wasting your time and your instructors time as well because the "real world" of Nursing is going to eat you alive!

I'm not trying to come off as a jerk, but it's true! You being a virgin has NOTHING to do with your performance during clinicals. I'm really not sure as to why you brought that up.

It kinda frightens me to know that there are INDEED people out there entering the world of Nursing simply for a way out or for financial reasons. That simply means TO ME that there are a lot of joe-blows out there treating people whom for (1) doesn't have any passion for the profession and (2) doesn't have a CLUE as to what their doing or what they got themselves into.

To make things simple, discontinue Nursing school. If you don't have the confidence to perform proficiently and effectively while in Nursing school your wasting your time and your instructors time as well because the "real world" of Nursing is going to eat you alive!

I'm not trying to come off as a jerk, but it's true! You being a virgin has NOTHING to do with your performance during clinicals. I'm really not sure as to why you brought that up.

It kinda frightens me to know that there are INDEED people out there entering the world of Nursing simply for a way out or for financial reasons. That simply means TO ME that there are a lot of joe-blows out there treating people whom for (1) doesn't have any passion for the profession and (2) doesn't have a CLUE as to what their doing or what they got themselves into.

Hey thanks for the advise bro. Gotta say I've been doing my LD clinical for a while now and ... its not as bad as I expected. ALTHOUGH I'm definitely never ever going to work in LD again but its been an interesting learning experience. Just don't see a straight guy working comfortably in such a setting. And doing postpartum assessments is a piece of cake now, no biggie. But on my floor I'm basically the only male nurse. Sure there are male obstetricians but all they do is catch the babies while we nurses need to do labour support and breastfeeding assistance. SO yeah ain't gonna be doing that after this clinical. And SURE maybe I don't really have "passion" for nursing but seriosly after investing so much of my time and resources into it no way I'm backing down. Its just like any other job, gotta learn specific skills and learn to perform them well to earn the paycheck. My grades will never be good enough for med school and with my science prereq courses I'm not settling for lab tech or some health tech job that pays less than $15/hour. Gotta think of the future like. Sure someday I might blame myself for leading myself down this path with no Plan B career but what other choice do I have? Working some deadend office job. NO thanks. I sure envy those rare SUPERNURSES who just get up every morning because they just LOVE their job so much. Maybe that will be me in another 30 years too :)

Specializes in Cardiac-Thoracic, Med/Surg.

Hey thanks for the advise bro. Gotta say I've been doing my LD clinical for a while now and ... its not as bad as I expected. ALTHOUGH I'm definitely never ever going to work in LD again but its been an interesting learning experience. Just don't see a straight guy working comfortably in such a setting. And doing postpartum assessments is a piece of cake now, no biggie. But on my floor I'm basically the only male nurse. Sure there are male obstetricians but all they do is catch the babies while we nurses need to do labour support and breastfeeding assistance. SO yeah ain't gonna be doing that after this clinical. And SURE maybe I don't really have "passion" for nursing but seriosly after investing so much of my time and resources into it no way I'm backing down. Its just like any other job, gotta learn specific skills and learn to perform them well to earn the paycheck. My grades will never be good enough for med school and with my science prereq courses I'm not settling for lab tech or some health tech job that pays less than $15/hour. Gotta think of the future like. Sure someday I might blame myself for leading myself down this path with no Plan B career but what other choice do I have? Working some deadend office job. NO thanks. I sure envy those rare SUPERNURSES who just get up every morning because they just LOVE their job so much. Maybe that will be me in another 30 years too :)

Hopefully things get better though! Nursing is non-stop and your constantly learning! I do, however, DO wish you best! Show those women that we're more than tools! Males have brains too! Lol

Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.

Im actually enjoying my LAbor and Delivery rotations, even as a guy. It really has erased the stigma of the rotation that I heard about! I saw two lady partsl births anda c-section. Pretty awesome day. Plus I got to see a CRNA student, and their preceptor in action and multiple CNM's. Glad I got to see APN's in action. Granted, it is still not my first choice of clinical areas to work in, I still prefer the critcal care setting, but I beleive I could work there if I had too.

Specializes in ICU.

starting OB/Peds this month, I'm actually looking forward to it. HOpefully i wont get kicked out of any rooms for being a guy.

Specializes in Medical-Surgical, Supervisory, HEDIS, IT.
starting OB/Peds this month, I'm actually looking forward to it. HOpefully i wont get kicked out of any rooms for being a guy.

It all depends on how the nurse you are with presents it. My nurse said "hi my name is blah and this is Sean, he is a student and will be with me today". The other guy in my rotation had a very different experience. His old nurse asked each patient if they wanted a "male student" all said no. My nurse just said it like it was and I saw some deliveries which were awesome. Saw a section while standing at the foot of the operating table. The vag birth I saw I had a birds eye view because I was holding up the girls leg. It was cool....

However....I am so glad that OB is over with. Not my cup of tea...... :)

Specializes in Emergency.

My mom gave birth to me in front of a whole class of nursing students. She didn't care haha.

+ Add a Comment