Advice for Peds/OB

[Tonks57]

Hello there! So I am going to be starting my Peds and OB rotation next month and needless to say, I am freaking out. They say it is the hardest term at school. Anyone have any recommendations for books? Study habits? How are clinicals on a pediatric unit? OB? I just do not know what to expect and I am a lot more anxious/nervous about being around kid patients than I am on a med surg floor around my adult patients. Thank you!

[DisneyNurseGal, BSN, RN]

I have heard a lot of people say they thought Peds/OB was hard but for me it wasn't so bad. Nursing students tend to Psych ourselves out based on what we hear others say. Go into it like any other rotation, and try not think about what you have heard.

I do not have a recommendation on a specific book. I did find it helpful to write down "normal" vital sign amounts since the values on neonates and kids differ drastically from the adult values we have memorized. I laminated the index card I wrote them down on and carried them to every clinical.

[aachavez]

I'd never spent much time around kids, so it was very awkward getting used to being on a ped's floor. They were great tho, and I had a blast. I only had 2 days of OB, saw 2 c sections the first, and then did some assesements on mom's about 12-24 hours post delivery, which was interesting. Those patients were wonderful too. Really enjoyed getting to spend some time with the newborns!

I got the memory notebook of OB nursing by Mosby, has those silly cartoons to help you remember stuff, and it helped some. Otherwise I did what I'd been doing all along, just doing lots of reading and practice questions.

[rubato, ASN, RN]

I am in the same boat, not because of what others have said, but because I don't particularly like children. I mean, I love kids, but don't want to deal with them being hurt or sick. It kills me. And, I don't ever want to work labor and delivery, so I'm dreading that rotation as well. Oh well, it's only a semester right?

[danielle11]

I loved my Peds and OB rotation, it was my very favorite semester! I also liked my OB days at the hospital (PP, L&D, NICU) much more than my pediatric days because my patients often cried and were scared every time somebody came into the room (understandable) while my OB patients were happy to see us. Like a PP, I too wrote down all pediatric VS for my particular patient's age range as they are so different than adults. Other than that I did not do anything different as far as studying or reading. Go in with an open mind and you may surprise yourself with how much you like it! I had never considered NICU and now after spending a rotation in a tertiary NICU of a major children's hospital with babies on ECMO, cranial hemorrhages, rare genetic disorders, etc I know I have found my true passion in nursing.

[springchick1, ADN, RN]

Hello there! So I am going to be starting my Peds and OB rotation next month and needless to say I am freaking out. They say it is the hardest term at school. Anyone have any recommendations for books? Study habits? How are clinicals on a pediatric unit? OB? I just do not know what to expect and I am a lot more anxious/nervous about being around kid patients than I am on a med surg floor around my adult patients. Thank you![/quote']

I'm in OB/Peds now and it has been, well, interesting. Maybe because I'm taking it summer term and its a short semester. Anyway...I would recommend the Review and Rational books for OB and the one for Peds. The Saunders NCLEX review book is great. I would recommend buying it used off of Amazon though because the new edition comes out I'm October. I second everyone else saying learn the vitals for newborn, infants, and children. They are a lot different than adult. Study and them study some more the different stages of labor and delivery. Commit it to memory!