Ob/pediatrics

My school doesn't do a peds rotation but I just did the OB rotation last semester. It was different than med/surg in the fact that you're taking care of healthy patients who want to spend time without you hovering over them. I learned a lot about teaching my patients about caring for their newborn and social relationships with other siblings. It was not easier, but less intense than med/surg. I really liked working with the family as a whole, and enjoyed shadowing in the NICU for one of the days. The hardest thing for me was giving the newborn a vitamin K injection in front of the new parents and about 6 of their family members. But I did it and you will too!

I did not think Peds or Ob was hard, but I guess I am in the minority. What I found helpful is to put the "normal" vital sign ranges on a note card. I laminated the note card and carried it to every clinical. Neonates and Peds values are so much different from the adult ones we have memorized, this way you don't freak out when a neonate's heart rate is 155.

Thanks guys! Any other replys are helpful :)

I didn't find either to be particularly difficult when I was in school. I didn't have them in the same semester. I did Maternity with Med-Surg II and Peds with Psych. I hated Maternity and clinicals were primarily in post-partum/were dreadfully boring. I found the Peds/Psych semester to be a little emotionally difficult because of my clinical placements. My psych placement was on an acute care unit and most patients were admitted post-failed suicide attempt. I found it very difficult to go from that to children who were dying but wanted to live.

The OB part was much harder to me than the peds part. I have 9.5 days left in this class and I can't wait to be done. It's been a rough summer. I have a test, the HESI, and the final before it's all said and done. Let me just say, next Wed can't come soon enough!!!!!