Male student enters OB room. What do you think?

Nursing Students Male Students

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I was doing my OB clinicals and entered a patient's room to deliver a food tray. Stupid move on my part, but it got me a complaint from the patient and kicked out of my OB class. I'm allowed to repeat next year.

I'm confused, were you kicked out for starring at the patient or for bringing a tray in her room ?

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I'm confused, were you kicked out for starring at the patient or for bringing a tray in her room ?

I didn't ask that question, but I assume just my presence in the room was enough.

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Specializes in CVICU.

I feel like a lot of details are missing. If the woman was in labor, why didn't your instructor react when you entered the room? You claimed you knocked. What made you think it was okay to enter? Did someone respond to your knocking? Did either the patient or the spouse indicate they didn't want you in the room? What did the hospital tell your school? What did your instructor say in response, given that she was there when you entered?

I feel like if I, as a student, walked into an OB room while a patient was in labor, I would get my instructor's attention and ask her what to do with it. If she were busy, I would go find a nurse outside the room and ask her what to do with it. I mean, you were doing your L&D rotation.. to witness a woman in labor shouldn't have been a jaw-dropping experience.

This is coming from a male student's point of view.

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Specializes in OB.

I don't get the whole male students not welcome in a labor room, aren't most doctors and respiratory techs male anyway???? working in OB I don't see a lot of this. most of our patients are happy to let the students learn and at the time to push, most could not care less of who is in the room, they just want their babies OUT!

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I don't get the whole male students not welcome in a labor room, aren't most doctors and respiratory techs male anyway???? working in OB I don't see a lot of this. most of our patients are happy to let the students learn and at the time to push, most could not care less of who is in the room, they just want their babies OUT!

I heard in California it is illegal for a male nurse to work on an OB floor. I would question why I even need the training?

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Specializes in Heme Onc.

We had a girl dismissed from our program for submitting a make up assignment via email. She had to miss a clinical day to attend a family members funeral, so the instructor assigned her a case study (which was of the instructors design, you know... a typical case study with a patient scenario and some critical thinking questions.) When she submitted the assignment, complete and on time via email (as she was out of town for the funeral), she was taken to the directors office upon her return to alert her that she was being dismissed from the program for a HIPAA violation and sending sensitive patient material in a non-secure fashion. Uhhh, it was a case study that she presumed the instructor made up or got from a text book, and the instructor asserted it was a real patient scenario from clinical (How the H*** was the student to know that?)

This was 2 years ago. The girl is still fighting it.

I'd love to say I was surprised by your situation but Nursing school is full of mysteries of the most ridiculous persuasions.

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I don't get the whole male students not welcome in a labor room, aren't most doctors and respiratory techs male anyway???? working in OB I don't see a lot of this. most of our patients are happy to let the students learn and at the time to push, most could not care less of who is in the room, they just want their babies OUT!

I have four children and after the experience I had with student nurses, I requested no students be present for my third and fourth. I have tiny veins and a nursing student tried to start my IV. She blew every one in arm and I ended up with an IV in my wrist. Talk about some pain. I cut her some slack because even her instructor couldn't hit the vein. It took calling in the nurse manager to get it right. After that, I made it clear that there were to be no nursing students. Thankfully, my labors are only about two hours so it is never been that big of a deal.

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Specializes in OB.

In my unit nursing students only watch, they don't get to do much. As a student myself in my OB rotation I didn't start any IV lines since I had only practiced with the dummy hand in lab, so I basically hing fluids and did Foley catheters.

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

The one thing that makes sense to me is, when anybody wants you gone, any reason will do.

The trick is figuring out the why, because the reason they give doesn't have to be the correct one.

When I was in nursing school, the instructors weeded out those students they found unacceptable.

It was more than two decades ago, but we all knew it.

I guess that practice still goes on.

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Specializes in LTC.

I don't even know why the instructors make passing trays such a big issue, but they do. I thought it was my responsibility. I think its stupid to pass trays in RN training. I am not one of these people that thinks certain duties are beneath them, I just don't see the point..

I think this may be more of an issue than anything else. It's not beneath us as students to do ANYTHING that is asked of us. If the instructor wants you to do it, you do it.

As for why you were dismissed, seems odd, details are missing. It seems harsh to dismiss you for staring. Any student could stare if they saw something that they were unfamiliar with. It happens. Part of the student process is gaining a poker face.

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I don't even know why the instructors make passing trays such a big issue, but they do. I thought it was my responsibility. I think its stupid to pass trays in RN training. I am not one of these people that thinks certain duties are beneath them, I just don't see the point..

I think this may be more of an issue than anything else. It's not beneath us as students to do ANYTHING that is asked of us. If the instructor wants you to do it, you do it.

As for why you were dismissed, seems odd, details are missing. It seems harsh to dismiss you for staring. Any student could stare if they saw something that they were unfamiliar with. It happens. Part of the student process is gaining a poker face.

I was very tired that day and I might have stared a little too long. I saw a patient with a sweaty forehead and realized maybe I should leave. Nothing too exciting. It was such a non event I left the room and completely forgot about it until I had a meeting with my director. I wasn't sure what the big ordeal was?

The funny thing is if I am this horrible creeper then why am I allowed to retake the class?

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Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.
I heard in California it is illegal for a male nurse to work on an OB floor. I would question why I even need the training?

Illegal for a male to work on an OB floor as a nurse? That is ridiculous! There are plenty of male OB MDs out there. I highly doubt that it is illegal for a male nurse to be hired to an OB floor anywhere .... unlikely maybe, but illegal - no.

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