L&D rotation

AwayWeGo · Mar 16, 2011

When I was a student they just told us to stand in the corner out of the way. Having been a L&D nurse I would just let the nurse you are following know you would like to help with whatever she feels comfortable with. It may be position changes, fetching ice or water, helping mom relax, holding a leg during pushing. If you are in a C-Section it's probably best to stay in one place as to not contaminate sterile fields. Have fun and good luck! :)

Hushi05 · Mar 16, 2011

We have students all the time and really don't mind. Most of us like teaching. Just act interested, ask questions (not during a crisis!), and offer to help out. And do some reading in your textbook first so you have some idea of what's going on.

kakamegamama · Mar 17, 2011

And, do NOT say "I've already done that" when asked if you'd like to do a skill. That should hold for any clinical rotation, but when I taught OB, that statement got students in trouble with staff (and me :) ). Have a great time!!!!

2Nurture1 · Mar 17, 2011

Hi there, I just recently completed my preceptorship in L&D, and everything each person has posted is true and dead on. Judging from my experience, the best thing to do during a high stress time is to stand back and observe, watch everything that's going on, that's what I did especially during C-sections. One time, I made the mistake of picking up one of the attending NICU nurses hand towel to hand over to her after she scrubbed in and she immediately says, "Oh no, you just contaminated my sterile field", and I thought, OMG! Although I was only trying to assist her with drying her hands, it probably would've been best if I'd simply stood back and observed. I found every detail to be totally fascinating, sure, I had a couple of the worse preceptors in the hospital who refused to show me anything, and made me feel as though I was in their way, I was still enjoying the fact of being there to witness it all!

As one previous poster exclaimed, I also assisted with holding legs during lady partsl deliveries, pitched ice/water/soda, inserted a few foleys, VS on neonates, cleaning the pt after delivery, and transporting to pp unit once their conditions were stable enough.

I enjoyed the time while I was there and being able to get a feel of what the floor is actually like on a daily basis. It had its highs and lows, but overall it seems to be a great place if L&D is really where you want to be.

Now the problem is, am I going to be able to actually land a job in L&D after graduation.....

Hoping and praying :nurse:

LilyGirlie · Mar 18, 2011

Thank you everyone for the advise. I am really excited about L&D. It was actually after being there for a friend while she had her son and sister while she delivered my niece that I knew nursing was the place for me. I will keep your words in my head while there.

Thanks again!!