OB Clinicals

Rep · Mar 4, 2005

When I was a student doing a rotation in a rural community, I was helping the midwife who was attending a woman in labor. Her cervix was fully dilated and you can see already the head of the baby. We have been doing these for a couple fo hours but still the baby does not come out. Finally the the woman in labor asked if I could get out of the room. when I left the room with in five minutes the baby was delivered. I think the reason why the woman had difficulty was because I am a male and was uncomforatble of my presence. since then I never entertained any thought of going back to OB once I becamed an RN.

But to a classmate of mine, its a different story, he became a nurse-midwife and worked for a few years as a clinical instructor in OB/GYN.

nursemike, ASN, RN · Mar 5, 2005

I'm doing OB clinicals right now--well, okay, I'm surfing allnurses while my careplan unconsciously develops--and I have to say, I'm not loving it. Not hating it, either--some of it is fun--but I definitely don't see myself going this route in my practice.

I have no problem with asking about a male student within my earshot. Actually, it's helpful to know that the patient has agreed to a male present, rather than having it dropped on her out of nowhere. I don't feel badly if I'm refused--it's a pretty vulnerable time, and people have a right to be as comfortable as they can. I'm a little surprised how many don't refuse!

As a 48 yr old bachelor, I seem to be equally uncomfortable around mothers and babies. I mean, I do very much enjoy the company of women, and kids are wonderful, but I had planned to mention on the closed thread about sexuality that I find nursing to be in many ways more intimate than sex, and it's typically done with a complete stranger. It's quite unlike a romantic relationship with someone you know and love, or even a casual discussion about menstruation with your gal pals. As for the babies, they are beautiful, and adorable, and wonderful, and FRAGILE! They scare me to death and melt my heart at the same time. I suppose this gives me great empathy with new fathers.

I'm not sorry to have done this rotation, and I think I've learned a lot that will relate to med-surg, r/t female patients. (Most of my clinical experiences have been with older ladies who've been to the rodeo before, which makes it a lot easier to deal with them.) I'm sure I will eventually overcome a lot of my shyness, but I'm going to work at maintaining the sensitivity that underlies the shyness.

nursemike, ASN, RN · Mar 11, 2005

So, today was my last day in Maternity Nursing. Glad to have done it, and glad it's done. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to see a delivery--mostly a quirk of timing and census. Some guys did get in, and some got refused. I got to see and do more than I thought I might, but no delivery.

It isn't hard to see why people love Maternity. If you cherish life, helping to bring new life into the world has to be great. I think I may have fallen in love with one of my patients. The age difference could be a problem. I'm 48, and she's--well, she would be a couple of weeks old, now, I guess. So, you know, she's catching up.

In general, the reception I got from the staff nurses I worked with varied from good to great. Much like med-surg. Patients were more receptive to a male student than I thought they might be. I couldn't help feeling out of place, at times, and it feels a bit bizarre to try to educate a woman about breastfeeding. Still, I didn't faint or anything, so that's a plus.

I thought I would hate Psych, and I loved it. I thought I would hate Maternity, and it was okay. I'm going to try not to form any prejudices about Pediatrics. Mostly, I'm just going to enjoy Spring Break.

CA CoCoRN, RN · Mar 11, 2005

The behavior of the nurses I shadowed did bother me a bit. I was typically asked to wait outside the room, while the nurse would enter and ask "I have a male nursing student with me today, is it okay if he comes in?" Not exactly a welcoming experience. Also, there were no male nurses on the entire floor of the hospital. No male staff restroom or locker room.

That bothers me. I was just shadowed by some nursing students, two of whom were men.

My pet peeve is that anyone enter the room without permission. So I have my students of both genders wait until I ask. I don't think it matters whether they're male or female. We are to be PROFESSIONAL at all times. If the student can't be, then I'll have a problem with him/her...and that will be the end of that. Heck, medical students are not excluded because at some point they will specialize, so they need to see everything. The same for nursing students.

The ONLY time I take into consideration whether the student (or other entering person) is male is when I know there is a RELIGIOUS or cultural bias/reason for the male to be excluded.

E.g. I had a delivery with a middle eastern couple...and the RT needed to be there. He was male and the pt's husband "took offense". The RT needed to remain there, so we shielded the pt's perineum and went about our business.

My students saw no less than three vag deliveries and quite a few sections.

Our unit does have dressing rooms for males...well, actually, they use the men's physician locker room since we (the women) took over the "men's" locker room. We have lots of nurses...not enough lockers. And we have a couple of guys on the floor who work as techs. We had an LVN who would scrub, but he got his RN and went to Nursery.

mwbeah · Mar 11, 2005

Like I had posted before, I am a male and was a Labor and Delivery nurse for 4 years in NYC and absolutely loved it. If you treat the patient well there is not a problem. The only times ..... there were 2 patients in 4 years........ I was requested not to be the nurse was for conservative Islamic women who wore the traditional coverings.

Mike

pmchap · Mar 14, 2005

Women generally do not like the idea of male nurses. Some of them are not too happy about male doctors.
The hospital should ask first. The male nurse should not do the asking. He should not even be in the room when she is asked. If she delays for more than a second it should be marked as a 'no'.
Most females do not like the idea or practice of male nurses when they are giving birth. It is usually something 'presented' to them when they are least able to resist it. It is an appalling care strategy.
It is a dreadful time to spring social engineering and political corectness into the equation. Male nurses should certainly not be allowed near Moslem females etc. and expectant patients with prior sexual abuse histories etc.

Where did you get this from? So much of what society believes is based on suppositions of influential figureheads it is plain impossible to tell what most people want at all. The idea of nursing being based on a gender specific model has been superceeded by the recognition of traits that are vocation specific. I feel that the political correctness issue is when you say - 'oh no - better let a female nurse in there' - your ability to nurse isn't about your gender - it is about you as an individual professional. Saying that part of that ability is to recognise who your patient is - expectant mothers of religous faiths will have prenatal care based of their faith preferences & this should be respected - just the same as any care for anyone should be based on their needs/beliefs. (At times this may mean that the care they recieve isn't neccessarily what they believe is right - that is the burden of being a health professional - balancing clinical knowledge and skill with patient belief and desire)

Gampopa · Mar 14, 2005

I liked some parts of my OB rotation: newborn nursery, feeding the little guys/gals, delivery, etc. But I did not feel welcomed by most of the nurses on the unit. I attributed this to my being a male but this was also a very busy LD unit that got lots of students and they could have been just burnt out by the constant coming and going of students. That said, having an experienced nurse who wants to work with students and wants to teach is a blessing! Thanks so much to those nurses :kiss . Postpartum just bored me to tears. I couldn't wait to get out of there. In all I was able to be at 4 lady partsl and 2 c-section deliveries. Those were pretty cool. It was also interesting to see the reaction of the family. Some were in tears with their new babies, some just watched TV.

grambograham · Mar 19, 2005

I really disliked post-partum part of the maternity rotation. I enjoyed the NICU Watching the births and holding the leg was fine but if I didn't see that again I'd be alright. The C-section was interesting to watch. I would not go back to any part of that rotaion.

jwk · Mar 20, 2005

Somebody often has to repair the damage caused by having male nurses doing controversial things and it tends to resonate. Many female patients complain afterwards (to female nurses) about having male staff imposed upon them. Most nurses know that female patients do not like male nurses.

AH, you mean most FEMALE nurses, right? Let's get the right sexist slant ot this.

Expectant mothers certainly top the list. The adverse criteria are so pervasive a general prohibtion is probably the best solution. Any male nurse who can't appreciate that there are likely to be many problems should possibly think of doing something else.

Males should automatically be excluded from L&D? Give me a break.

Expectant mothers should in ideal circumstances express the wish (without being asked by the hospital) and if they do not express that wish it should be viewed as a no. Most expectant mothers it can be assumed do not feel comfortable with male nurses.

Well gee, what if I'm not "comfortable" with a female nurse? By your criteria, I shouldn't even have to ask that I not be taken care of by a female nurse. It should just be assumed. I feel my "rights" being trampled on already!

Male nursing often has adverse consequences and it is only natural that this generates the type of feelings ...

What a crock.

Any male nurse who *expects* expectant mothers to welcome him in all and any circumstances should not be in the profession.
If he is that unfeeling he should be in the Marines, fighting in Iraq or driving a big dozer truck demolishing buildings etc. If a male nurse has zero empathy for females patients he should not be near them.

Your sexist attitudes are truly appalling. I'm curious - what other "types" of people shouldn't take care of expectant mothers?

grambograham · Mar 21, 2005

I don't agree that females don't like male nurses. The women I have cared for seem to like me being "their nurse." I have also talked to other women outside of the hospital and they claim that they like males more because they tend to be gentler and care more.

jmd · Mar 21, 2005

It comes down to the individual. I am the father of 4 and OB is an area I am extremely comfortable with. My wife doesn't care what gender the nurse/doctors were as long as they were kind and knowledgable.

If you do your job well and treat people with kindness and respect you will have no problem and such is true of all in life.

When we had our first I can say from rotation to rotation our experiences with the nurses changed. One shift would be phenominal and the next would be rude and you could tell they hated their job.

There are many many male OBGYNs and woman go to them. Why should another team members gender in the healthcare industry be of any consequence.

EricG · Mar 22, 2005

Holy $#&*, as I read each successive post by Moscow, my blood pressure shot up about 10 pts. I am a nurse. Male, Female, Alien.... I am a nurse. It's the "2000's" and inane beliefs regarding male nurses and HEALTHCARE scenarios that are "not acceptable to the patient" (read "assumed purely based on said gender of the nurse") is archaic and ignorant. If a male resident/fellow/attending can (and will) approach/assess/diagnose and treat a female patient without creating some type of BS "We need to ask for permission, etc", then I, as a healthcare professional just like my female colleagues and male support team members (dr's), should be able to as well. The patient will ALWAYS have the right to defer care to a different nurse or team member (a pt. unhappy with the care they received from a female....err, I won't even go there), but to immediately assume and "offer up" the male nurse as a "compromise" is horrendous for the advancement of our profession.

As a relatively new circulator in a 650+ bed/16 surgical suite, level one trauma, teaching hospital I have run into a couple instances where the female pt. had made prior arrangements for no male OR team members to be in her room intraoperatively. Those wishes were respected 100% as they should have been. To ask each pt. during pre-op if they "have a problem with a male nurse" being their advocate would do little more than give the appearance that having a male nurse is a compromise and you are agreeing to a lesser standard of care. This scenario may be applied to most any nursing situation and present the same negative connotations about male nurses.

Imagine every female nurse having to get "clearance" before each shift to care for the male patients on their floor or OR room schedule each day. Ugh..... why, why, why???? Why am I not "OK" and Dr. John Doe is?

Sorry for the rant, but it sucks sometimes for male nursing students because of this mindset. We all need to do what we can to change this.

OH YEAH, the original question.......

This huge, bad-a$$ facility I am working at?? I did my OB clinicals here and fell in love with the place because of the way the staff and pts. welcomed me as an individual training to be a professional healthcare provider.