Hi Friends!!
It's been awhile since I last posted and I'm just dropping by to give you a little update on the latest in my nursing school. This summer I enrolled in Maternity and Newborn and Pediatrics rotations. I am finishing up the Maternity and Newborn (OB) rotation this upcoming week! Wish me luck on finals 🤓
So, some of you nursing students or people looking into nursing school may be wondering what all you will be doing in your OB rotation. I am here to give you insight on what you will more than likely be doing in clinical, what the tests are like in 300 level classes compared to 200, and what summer nursing classes are really like.
First, I would just like to explain why I am taking summer courses. In 2014 I switched my major from dietetics to nursing. This set me back an entire year for graduation. UNLESS I took summer courses. So here I am completing my first summer session. I will be done in August. Each of my courses is four weeks. THIS IS EXTREMELY COMPRESSED! Compared to the normal 14 week semester. Summer courses are extreme. You have to have the willpower and the right mind set to get through them. I have 30 hours a week in clinical, and 8 hours a week in lecture. I wake up at the earliest 4:30 AM on clinical days (three days a week). On lecture days I am up by 6:30 AM (two days a week). I am at clinical generally from 6:30-4:30PM. And I am not a morning person so this is extremely hard for me (that being said, if I can do it you can do it!). The hardest thing about summer courses are you have slim to none free time. When I get home from a 10 hour day at clinical the last thing I want to do is study for my lecture exam the next day. So, this is where you will have to study in advance and do your homework in when you're not tired. The best thing about summer courses is that you are only taking one class at a time so you can completely focus on your class without worrying about other courses. Summer courses are 100% doable if you put the effort into them.
So, what sort of things will you be doing and seeing in your OB clinical? My class did rotations at our hospital in: Labor and Delivery, Postpartum/Newborn, and NICU. You will be observing and possibly helping in labors, and c-sections. You will be exposed to fetal heart monitoring, epidurals, IV infusions, and nonpharmalogical care for women in labor. You will be assessing women and neonates after birth. You will learn how to look for abnormals in mom and baby. In the postpartum unit you will be caring for the mom and baby for the first few days after birth. You will monitor the mother and baby for any abnormal occurrences. I got to give newborn baths, watch circumcisions, administer vaccinations, and so much more. In the NICU you may have the chance to feed and change diapers. The NICU for my class was definitely more observation.
I really enjoyed my entire experience at this clinical. My favorite thing was attending births. I got to see three vaginal births and one c-section. I also loved caring to the newborn after birth. I really felt in my element the entire time during this rotation. My experience really solidified my desires to become a L&D nurse.
I had a few people warn me that once I got out of my fundamentals classes and into my 300 level nursing classes that it was going to be SO HARD!! ....I found no significant difference. I am still maintaining the good grades and do not find myself struggling in any way. My piece of advice for this is: DO NOT LISTEN TO OTHER PEOPLE. EVERYONE'S JOURNEY IS DIFFERENT AND THEY ARE GOING TO EXPERIENCE DIFFERENT THINGS THAN YOU. LISTEN TO YOURSELF AND MOVE FORWARD WITH CONFIDENCE IN YOUR ABILITIES.
I would love to hear from other people on their experiences during their OB rotation and of course any questions that anyone has I will do my best to answer them!
It's been awhile since I last posted and I'm just dropping by to give you a little update on the latest in my nursing school. This summer I enrolled in Maternity and Newborn and Pediatrics rotations. I am finishing up the Maternity and Newborn (OB) rotation this upcoming week! Wish me luck on finals 🤓So, some of you nursing students or people looking into nursing school may be wondering what all you will be doing in your OB rotation. I am here to give you insight on what you will more than likely be doing in clinical, what the tests are like in 300 level classes compared to 200, and what summer nursing classes are really like.
First, I would just like to explain why I am taking summer courses. In 2014 I switched my major from dietetics to nursing. This set me back an entire year for graduation. UNLESS I took summer courses. So here I am completing my first summer session. I will be done in August. Each of my courses is four weeks. THIS IS EXTREMELY COMPRESSED! Compared to the normal 14 week semester. Summer courses are extreme. You have to have the willpower and the right mind set to get through them. I have 30 hours a week in clinical, and 8 hours a week in lecture. I wake up at the earliest 4:30 AM on clinical days (three days a week). On lecture days I am up by 6:30 AM (two days a week). I am at clinical generally from 6:30-4:30PM. And I am not a morning person so this is extremely hard for me (that being said, if I can do it you can do it!). The hardest thing about summer courses are you have slim to none free time. When I get home from a 10 hour day at clinical the last thing I want to do is study for my lecture exam the next day. So, this is where you will have to study in advance and do your homework in when you're not tired. The best thing about summer courses is that you are only taking one class at a time so you can completely focus on your class without worrying about other courses. Summer courses are 100% doable if you put the effort into them.
So, what sort of things will you be doing and seeing in your OB clinical? My class did rotations at our hospital in: Labor and Delivery, Postpartum/Newborn, and NICU. You will be observing and possibly helping in labors, and c-sections. You will be exposed to fetal heart monitoring, epidurals, IV infusions, and nonpharmalogical care for women in labor. You will be assessing women and neonates after birth. You will learn how to look for abnormals in mom and baby. In the postpartum unit you will be caring for the mom and baby for the first few days after birth. You will monitor the mother and baby for any abnormal occurrences. I got to give newborn baths, watch circumcisions, administer vaccinations, and so much more. In the NICU you may have the chance to feed and change diapers. The NICU for my class was definitely more observation.
I really enjoyed my entire experience at this clinical. My favorite thing was attending births. I got to see three vaginal births and one c-section. I also loved caring to the newborn after birth. I really felt in my element the entire time during this rotation. My experience really solidified my desires to become a L&D nurse.
I had a few people warn me that once I got out of my fundamentals classes and into my 300 level nursing classes that it was going to be SO HARD!! ....I found no significant difference. I am still maintaining the good grades and do not find myself struggling in any way. My piece of advice for this is: DO NOT LISTEN TO OTHER PEOPLE. EVERYONE'S JOURNEY IS DIFFERENT AND THEY ARE GOING TO EXPERIENCE DIFFERENT THINGS THAN YOU. LISTEN TO YOURSELF AND MOVE FORWARD WITH CONFIDENCE IN YOUR ABILITIES.
I would love to hear from other people on their experiences during their OB rotation and of course any questions that anyone has I will do my best to answer them!
Thanks for reading!
-K