Just finished OB rotation

Nursing Students Male Students

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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.

Well. That day came last night. It was nasty. I hope I never have to sit through another one. Luckily I didnt have to watch the afterbirth because I was helping "catch" the baby. I got to cut the cord, do the apgar assessment, put meds in her eyes, and all that other post delivery stuff. That part was fun.

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I'm about to start my OB rotation this summer....not looking forward to it at all....I'm just glad it's during our summer semester so it's only 10 weeks as opposed to a regular semester of 15.....I've heard good things about my clinical instructor though and I'm familiar with the hospital where my clinicals will be held at. Any advice?

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Specializes in NICU, Psych, Med/Onc,Ped Home Health.

the op sounds exactly how my ob rotation went many moons ago...

overall i have to admit that i really didn't like it that much. i was able to take part in a c-section and see a vag delivery. didn't really like postpartum that much. but i made it through.

now, working in nicu, the only males i see in l&d are the o.r. techs. there are absolutely no male nurses to be found in l&d or postpartum.

however here in nicu, there are 5 males (4 rns and 1 lvn) currently working. and it is kinda of cool when someone asks what unit i work in, and then they say, "oh, i could never do that" or "premies scare me". definitely takes a special person, both male and female to work nicu.

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OB was great for me, I had a very amazing instructor who didn't push me into things I didn't want to do =)

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Specializes in Alzheimers and geriatric patients.

when i had my kids the male students were so much nicer than the girls! Maybe they tried harder because they weren't as accepted by some of the other patients, but either way they were more polite, explained exactly what they were there to do (most of the girls just started doing stuff to me!), and were just overall more proffessional about the whole thing.

One of the male students got to watch my c-section, and he passed out! I felt so bad for him. I hope I dont pass out while I watch one!

Good luck to you all.

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Specializes in psych/medical-surgical.

About the most exciting thing for me in OB clinical was getting to push the code button when no one was coding.

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A lot of your nursing school experiences, including the OB rotation, is going to depend upon your instructors, staff, and institution that surround you. Another big variable, maybe the biggest, is the attitude you carry with you into the learning opportunity.

My OB experiences was rather so-so. I observed C-sections and a lady partsl birth, performed several infant and postpartum maternal assessments, and other various OB clinical activities. I had a superb clinical instructor and felt the nursing staff was rather neutral about my presence. I'm confident that I could have gotten more from this opportunity if I wanted to.

If someone demonstrates a sincere desire to learn, I think it would be hard for anyone to deny him or her.

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A lot of your nursing school experiences, including the OB rotation, is going to depend upon your instructors, staff, and institution that surround you. Another big variable, maybe the biggest, is the attitude you carry with you into the learning opportunity.

My OB experiences was rather so-so. I observed C-sections and a lady partsl birth, performed several infant and postpartum maternal assessments, and other various OB clinical activities. I had a superb clinical instructor and felt the nursing staff was rather neutral about my presence. I'm confident that I could have gotten more from this opportunity if I wanted to.

If someone demonstrates a sincere desire to learn, I think it would be hard for anyone to deny him or her.

As a male student that had a pretty worthless experience in OB (along with most of the male students in my class) I had to give alot of thought as to how to reply to the last sentence in your post. After alot of thought I decided to take the high road and say thanks for your personal opinion.

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Specializes in LTC/Psych/Alzheimers/Telemetry.

L&D and PP were not my favorite rotations. Honestly, they were the worse of all of my rotations. I didn't do anything on my L&D floor except observe a few c-sections. PP, none of my patients allowed me to do anything on them, but they were around my age (20) which is understandable.

Overall, I don't think I will be going into the L&D career field. lol

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I just had my last OB clinical day this week. I must admit I came into it with low expectations, but my experience has greatly surpassed those expectations. I don't know if it was the facility, the nurses, the patients, my clinical instructor, good luck, or the universe falling into place, but I was never rejected by any patients, got to observe numerous C-sections and lady partsl deliveries, got great experiences in the NICU, and learned a lot in the nursery. L&D and PP weren't my favorite sections, but I was able to learn and do a lot. A lot of it I attributed to the attitudes of the nurses I was assigned to. While I have no desire whatsoever to work in L&D or PP, I could see myself working in the nursery or NICU.

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I think much of the experience with OB has to do with your clinical instructor and the facility that you are at. I was NOT looking forward to that quarter and in the end it ended up being my most enjoyable. Not that I'll be going into L&D, heh, but it was definitely an unexpected, yet very positive and educational experience for me.

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Specializes in Family Practice, ICU.

I just finished my OB rotation. I'm a male nursing student. Here are my thoughts:

L&D: Interesting. Saw 2 vag births, 1 c-section. The nurses were helpful and informative.

Nursery / Transition: I liked holding the babies and caring for them. After three hours it was empty and the day dragged. Transition was interesting, NICU was really cool. It seems that in these two units men are more welcome, i.e. with the children, not with the mothers.

Postpartum: Really disliked this part. The first day the nurse was pretty good, allowed me to do some things. The second day the nurse wouldn't allow me to check episiotomies or bleeding, even though the moms were fine with it. I'm still annoyed about it.

Overall: My least favorite clinical by far. OB seems not a great area for men. Aside from the nurse not allowing me to do things, the other nurses said that men are never hired in L&D or Postpartum. I don't want to work in an environment where I'm on pins and needles wondering if a patient will allow me to care for them. I never see myself working in L&D, and especially postpartum. It was a learning experience in more ways then one. I learned a lot about the birthing process.

Basically, my new philosophy is "learn what you need to pass boards" about OB, and then put it behind you.

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