maternity- helpful hints/advice to students

BellsRNBSN · Apr 13, 2012

Yes, OB is very different from med/surg. Obviously, each nursing student's clinical rotation experience differs, depending on the student, the clinical instructor, the clinical site, the nurses on the unit, the patients, etc. etc. In my personal OB clinical experience as a nursing student, we were fairly limited in what we were allowed to do.

I passed meds maybe a handful of times (mostly IV antibiotics in labor and PO pain meds in postpartum). I observed lady partsl and C/S deliveries and epidural placements. I bathed a newborn. I inserted a couple foley catheters and started an IV. I did a few assessments on moms and babies, although they were not full assessments, and were a bit limited. I was one of the few in my clinical group who was allowed to check a laboring patient's cervix. Expect to spend a lot of time observing (and staying out of the way). Also expect the possibility of patients turning down having student nurses participate in their care (this tends to happen a lot with the male nursing students). In labor I often had a lot of downtime, waiting for the moms to progress. You'll get some exposure to the OR and Recovery (comparable to PACU) with C/S's. Some parents are very wary of nursing students doing ANYTHING with their newborns or getting anywhere near mom's fundus. Other parents are amazing and will take pleasure in including you in this most intimate of family experiences.

Even if OB doesn't interest you, take advantage of the opportunities you will likely have to brush up on your nursing skills such as starting IVs, inserting foley catheters, and hanging IV meds.

Remember, your clinical experience is what YOU make it! Good luck!

Columnist · Apr 13, 2012

Moved to Ob/Gyn Nursing.

Perhaps some of the OB/GYN nurses can offer input.

laraclaire · Apr 15, 2012

My OB rotation in nursing school is what made me want to be an L&D nurse and I absolutely love it! Two days is not at all long enough to get a full picture of OB nursing, especially if the unit is slow or doesn't do many deliveries. OB nursing is a very high malpractice area within the hospital. I say this not to scare you but to warn you that you might not get to do as much on an OB rotation as you would in a med-surg rotation. During my rotation, I observed a few lady partsl deliveries, a C/S, and basically helped the RN with anything she needed. We had not learned IV starts by this rotation so I just watched the RN and learned that way. Just be those helpful hands and show interest in learning OB because it really is quite interesting.