Just finished OB rotation

[newmale2nursing]

I know the OB rotation can be a hot topic in the Male Nursing Student Forum. I just wanted to give my $.02 since just finished my rotation.

First off, I think it must have a lot to do with the clinical instructor. I was lucky enough to have had my best clinical instructor so far. She is a NICU nurse at the my clinical site, and I think that helped a lot too.

I found that the majority of the staff was very helpful. Most of the patients were fine with having a male student nurse. You have to remember, a lot of their MD's are men too.

The first time you do a postpartum assessment, I will admit, is a bit awkward. But certainly no more so than inserting a foley!

My rotation in L&D was great. I was able to go in on a lady partsl birth and also a cesarean. Since I'm planning on going the CRNA route, any time I can get in the OR is a plus.

So basically, I just wanted to let you all know that the OB rotation can be a good experience. Yes, there is a lot of anxiety surrounding it as a male student, but you may actually end up liking it.

[•M♥J•]

I feel so bad that you guys have had such a hard time in OB... When I have my kids (someday, not now!) I will definitely let as many male nurses in as they'll let me!

[HM2VikingRN, RN]

I passed. Two of my male classmates did ok but it was not their favorite rotation.

[nurseman78, BSN, RN, NP]

Yeah, OB is just not my thing. I've gotten A's in all my pre-reqs and nursing classes so far, but OB is killing me. Got an 89% on the first test, which was fine, but then I blew the 2nd one (Labor), with a 75%. Luckily they bumped it up to an 81% after some adjustments. At this point, all I want to do is pass, because I don't really want to retake it. Plus that means I'll be on an 8 month delay to get my RN. Not fun!

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Hated this rotation simply because we didnt do anything ever at any point. I have seen 2 c-sections and then did PP teaching over the course of 5 clinical times, thats it. Get me the hell out of this semester and into something fun.

[nurseman78, BSN, RN, NP]

And they wonder why most guys don't work in OB?

[RPN_2012]

I feel so bad that you guys have had such a hard time in OB... When I have my kids (someday not now!) I will definitely let as many male nurses in as they'll let me![/quote']

I think it's cool if you can do that, I can't imagine having a male nurse care for me in OB/GYN, L&D, PP I know I shouldn't feel this way but I really can't help it. I think it's really good that more men are going into nursing, and it's cool if some end up in OB caring for patients who don't mind it, but me personally I couldn't have a guy caring for me in OB. It really make me feel like a b**** *sight* :uhoh21: Sorry guys.

[nurseman78, BSN, RN, NP]

Hey, no skin off my nose. I'd rather be helping sick people than checking episiotomies. You won't catch me dead working in an OB unit.

[barleynhopsBSN]

Hey with some of the negative OB stories here I just wanted to chime in with my experience. OB was my best rotation so far! I think that more guys should go into OB with an open mind.

There are definitely a few factors that will help a male student have a successful rotation. First, a clinical instructor that will advocate for you with the nurses (if you dont have this talk with your instructor). Two, a positive attitude and willingness to get involved on your rotation. I had one nurse go into the room and ask the pt "do you want a male student" in a way that made the pt. feel like she should refuse my care. This only happened one time. All of the other nurses were awesome and treated me like any other healthcare provider! The moms dads were all comfortable with me caring for them and their baby. The nurses remarked that I seemed comfortable and ready to helped out any way I could compared to many of the male paramedic and nursing students who just sat at the nurses station and didn't want to do anything because they didn't plan on working OB. Try this: come into the room- "Hey I'm BarleynHops a nursing student, I have your fentanyl mind of I come in?" No but seriously, pts can tell if you are putting off an attitude that you dont want to be there.

By the end of the rotation I had seen 3 births and 1 C/S, done IV push medications, mom & baby IMs, done assessments, discharge teaching, baby baths, all the charting, Foley Cath insertion, and had a pt of my own for the last 2 days of MBU.

I had a nurse recommend that I go for NICU and another suggest that I consider their unit when I graduate. Even though I want to go into ED I made some great connections on the unit and grew a lot as a student nurse. Who knows maybe NICU would be interesting someday.

[axiousguy]

Well you did alot more thanme. Another guy and I for my clinical group did not get to partake in the Labor and Delivery unit, whiich I found very odd... we stayed at mother baby while the other women got to do rotation at LD. I did give some shots to the newborns. My first little pt was a trooper and easy,and my 2nd one was the winiest girl ever. I think there personalities are formed already...

[sully75]

It was my best rotation. My CI was an awesome midwife. Gay, smart, interesting. We had a couple of things in common that we did before school, so it was nice to be able to chat with her. She took me seriously and was one of the first instructors to do that. I told her at the end that she saved my schooling, everything else was miserable.

Yeah it was awkward sometimes but you might as well dive in. You are going to be seeing a whole lot of nude people, men and women.

It was also sort of relaxing because pregnant ladies aren't necessarily sick. You are actually participating in something that a patient is happy about. That's rare, usually we're dealing with sadness of some sort.

[Tonnabelle-SN]

I wanted to post on this (my first post!!!) subject. While I am a nursing student and starting my OB rotation next week, I wanted to add something regarding the birth of my first son. He was born in a military hospital, NAS Pensacola, to be exact, and while the experience itself wasn't the best it could have been (imagine a 46 hour labor with induction methods of cervidil, cytotec, pitocin, manual dilation with the use of a Foley cath, and finally AROM when I was 42 weeks. Too many student doctors, student nurses, (most military hospitals are training hospitals) grouchy RN's and rude housekeepers....but my shining light...or my shining KNIGHT if you will, was the male RN that was my full time nurse during the day. Randy was his name, and he was awesome. He knew what I needed well before I did, and he took care of me through every grueling bit of my labor and subsequent emergency C-section at hour 48. For the first hour or so I was uncomfortable with the thought of having a male nurse, but he put me at ease instantly. He chatted with me and learned a bit about me personally, NOT me and the baby, and it made a huge difference. Believe it or not, he was also pro-breastfeeding and was well equipped (well.....) to work with Donovan and I with our latch issues and by the time we left his care, the baby was a champ at BFing. So to those of you do enjoyed OB and want to make a career of it, go for it. He was so much better than the "Female RN" I had at night and when he was off duty. I had Randy from Friday when I went in until Sunday, then he came back to me on Wednesday. On this day, we were joined by another male OB nurse, Greg, and between those two.....I don't think I'd have ANY pleasant memories of the birth.

I'm sorry some of you didn't get the experience you wanted out of OB, and I hope you have a chance later down the road to get into it some. Male nurses DO belong in OB, and they're darned good at it.

-T

[ArrowRN, BSN, RN]

I wonder how there are SOOOOOO many MALE GYN's and doctors that do deliveries and women have no problem with that. The very question of a preceptor, going and asking a patient if she wants a male nurse student in, is discriminatory.Why can't they just say "we have some students nurses doing clinical, would you mind?"...then let the patient bring up any issue with gender.IT like going and telling a white patient, "hey we have a black nurse coming in, is that okay with you?". If men are introduced as professionals, patients will start to see us as such. When I go the the doctors office, I want help by anyone, I do not care if the person giving care is male or female. I wonder how female nurses would feel if they were continually refused to cath male patients just because of their gender, and nothing else. It is a shame that in 2010 this is happening. As having almost 5 years experience as at EMT with having to deliver at least 5 births on an ambulance, a couple of which were breech, I remember one call this lady was ready to deliver in her living room, and my female EMT counterpart, was just freaking out, she had no clue what to do, I had to get her to focus and calm down. There is no reason why men can't be free to do their OB clinical rotation without being looked at all the time, unless there is a PATIENT initiated conversation about gender. Oh trust me guys, that LAST thing you think about during a birth is sex, or whatever else women think we think. I am sure it is the same when our female counterparts are performing procedures on us. Well I a got a few more pre-req to go, but with my experience I am sure that during OB clinical rotations my female counterparts may be fainting, and freaking out before me.