Male RNs & Obstetrics

[spudpatch]

I am a male nursing student about to begin my OB/LD rotation. My concerns are not with the "male nurse/female patient" interaction, but more of working in an area in which I have no previous experience. In Med-Surg there is a plan of care and an expected outcome toward improving the patient's health... OB seems like an entirely different animal! If there are any RNs, mothers or fathers who would like to share both positive and negative experiences while working in this field (and it does not have to be reserved to male RNs). Just give me an idea of what works and what doesn't as well as what will help me survive! Thank you very much for your input.

[NickB]

I haven't gotten to this part of nursing school, but speaking from a parent's point of view, remember that most people are pretty excited and will want to know a lot of info. All of our nurses took the time to answer all of our questions and did all that they could to make my wife comfortable. That was the biggest thing; you could tell that they really cared and weren't just trying to usher us through the experience.

[slinger09]

I was very uneasy about my ob rotation and just assumed I would get asked to leave every room I walked in but was very surprised that only once was I told I could not participate in a patients care and that was not by the patient but by the midwife taking care of her. This particular midwife did not allow any students in her patients rooms. I found this kind of odd since she was once a nursing student too, but to each their own. My ob rotation wound up not being that bad after all. Not anything that I would want to do full-time but it was a nice change of pace. Just go into with an open mind and remember just about anywhere you work as a nurse you have the potential of having a pregnant lady for a patient so try to retain all that you can.

[labordude, BSN, RN]

Hi Spudpatch,

First thing, DON'T overanalyze and work yourself up! I remember doing that in nursing school and quickly realized it was far better than it was played up to be. ONE of my two instructors told me and the other guy in my class to "just deal with it and it will be over soon". The other one, and I thank her everyday for this, realized that I really wanted to get the most out of my experience and helped me do just that.

Second, have confidence in yourself and in your knowledge. This makes a huge difference when entering a room. Patients and families want their provider to be confident, regardless of their gender and being a guy it makes a huge difference. Walk into the room (we were always paired, (regardless of gender) though I think that had more to do with there being a small number of patients than anything else), and say, "hi, my name is Bob or whatever, and I will be your student nurse for the day. If you really want to garner some clout with your families, have your instructor introduce you..this is Bob, your student nurse, he will be providing excellent care for you today along with BettySue, your RN. Makes a big difference

What did this do for me? I am now a NICU nurse who frequently attends deliveries. I also float into mother-baby and have spent days just attending deliveries as a "babycatcher" I also do a lot of lactation education and have been offered positions cross-training in L&D. You gain a sense of who is accepting of having males in the room and there are very few people who would refuse a male nurse but allow a male doctor. It is pretty easy to feel it out at this point.

In the end, you will get out of it what you put into it. If you focus on the "I really don't want to be here", it will suck for the time you are there. But if you realize that it's another learning experience with the potential to get a little crazy at delivery time, you can learn a lot.

Best of luck

Mike