becoming rusty with vaginal exams

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Specializes in OB, Peds, Med Surg and Geriatric Nsg.

any ideas where I can enhance my knowledge with lady partsl exams? training? continuing education? enroll in midwifery class?

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

Enrolling in midwifery class would entail entrance into a master's degree program, so I can't imagine that's a very cost effective or efficient way to simply become better at vag exams. Do you not have the opportunity at your job?

I've considered vag exams to be like riding a bike. Once you've figured it out, it's a skill you always have.

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Specializes in OB, Peds, Med Surg and Geriatric Nsg.

I currently have my Bachelor's so enrolling for master's won't be a problem since it's in my plan anyways in the future and my hospital reimburses for it as continuing education as long as I keep my full time status. However, I don't think it'll be happening anytime soon. I am able to know how dilated the patient is but don't have a clue regarding effacement as well as station. Any tips on what I should feel for? I don't know what it feels when a patient has an anterior lip or if the cervix is posterior. I feel useless at times during labor and I kinda noticed that our OB-GYNs prefer the older staff working instead of me which doesn't help boost my confidence with my chosen field.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

The best way to learn is to practice, and have a good preceptor who can verbalize what you're feeling.

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Specializes in OB, Peds, Med Surg and Geriatric Nsg.

I work at a small community hospital that only averages less than 100 births per year, so practice with limited patients is really hard. I was looking for like dummies or study materials to know more about this but so far no luck.

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I'm a student nurse and the hospital I did my Maternity clinical rotation at has these "lady parts models" 10 different vags with different stages of dilation and effacement. I got pretty good after a while!

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We had a "vag in a box" when I was training in OB :) I know you can get them somewhere!

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Specializes in L&D, PP, Nursery.

Are you able to check your patients or do the doc's prefer to? I work at a teaching hospital where the nurse-midwives prefer to check their own pt unless they are busy and the residents check all OB so they can learn, so I guess you could say I am in a similar boat. I havent become very good at assessing AL either but all I can do is continue to check my patients when the providers are busy... Though midwifery school is a fine aspiration, being a labor nurse will help you build your sve skills rather than graduate school if that is your current goal :)

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

ColoradoBirthRN, what hospital do you work at?

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Specializes in OB, Peds, Med Surg and Geriatric Nsg.

I checked those lady parts in a box and the cheapest I could find is $425!!! Maybe I could ask for it this coming Christmas. Lol

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Yeah we had them as part of our education program and the hospital paid.

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Specializes in L&D.

My hospital has a lady parts in a box for educational purposes, possibly you could get your place tp purchase one.Do you have a good relationship with ant of your docs? Tell him/her that you need more exam experience and ask if you could go to the office a couple of times and check some of his near term patients. You'd learn what an uneffeced cervix feels like and then it's easier to decide if another cervix is more or less than half or a quarter of that thickness.An anterior lip feels like it sounds--you feel the head and at the top, just under the pubic bone you can feela little piece of cervix. It's easiest to feel if it's really swollen, but you really would rather it not swell. Imagine you put a largish ball in your mouth so that you can't close your mouth. Feel the ball, firm and smooth, and feel where your upper lip meets the ball. Thats how it feels--a small piece of cervix trapped between the baby's head and the symphisis.When you mentioned a posterior cervix, did you mean how to tell if she complete or just well effaced and very posterior? Try to slip your examing finger between the baby's head and the symphisis. If you can, she's complete. If you can't, you have to get her to put fists under her buttocks to rock her pelvis foreward and reach wayyy back around the baby's head.

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