L/D for synthesis

[HM2VikingRN, RN]

I was thinking about doing my synthesis rotation at a community hospital in L/D-Postpartum. How accepting are the staff nurses of male nursing students?

[ladytraviler]

Come right on down! While I have worked with some nurses who don't think guys should be in L&D, I love it. I have worked with many men who are fantastic at it. They seem to have a knack for it. Don't short yourself if this is where you want to be. I do advise to be ready for the you don't understand cause you have never given birth type crap. I really get upset when I see a compentent male nurse get turned down for L&D due to the managers hang ups. Welcome to the world of families. We birth families while the doctors birth babies.

[CEG]

We birth families while the doctors birth babies.

Actually the women birth the babies, the doctors just catch;)

I did L & D for my synthesis. I am female, but I can tell you that it is a great rotation to do your synthesis on. It really gives you a chance to see the day in day out of L & D.

Also, if you think you might want to work L &D, this would be a good way to get your foot in the door. The hospital is more likely to let a male student in to L & D than they are to hire a male nurse in many areas. Then once you have done it (assuming you have done it well, LOL) you have credibility and experience that will help you in getting a job.

Good luck.

[KellNY, RN]

Viking, I would be honored to have you in my field!

Glad you're liking the rotation. We have one male L&D nurse where I work (he started in Post Partum) and he gets along with everyone well. He's only had a few Pts refuse care from him since he's been here (over 10yrs).

To be honest, I don't think there's a lot of male interest in OB/GYN. There's actually a thread in the male nurses forum, I think it's called "Are you man enough to be an OB nurse" or something similar. Might wanna check that out.

The one thing I can warn you about being a student nurse (male, female, tranny, whatever!) is that in L&D, when crap goes down, it goes DOWN. So don't be surprised if the polite, helpful nurse who's precepting you basically shoves you out of her way when something's going down.