This is my OB and Pediatric class I took in the spring semester of my Junior year. It was here that I learned everything there is to know about labor & delivery nursing, postpartum nursing, and pediatric nursing!
Labor & Delivery nursing was TRAUMATIC for me to say the least. Never in my life have I NOT wanted to be somewhere more than helping a woman deliver her baby! Before we stepped foot into the delivery unit, the students were trained in what’s called “OB Bootcamp” where we quickly learn everything we need to learn in order to be a contributing member on the unit. This is an entire day where you learn the anatomy of pregnancy, process of birth, how to respond to emergent deliveries, and how to quickly assess both mother and her baby. During OB bootcamp, we split the day between an in-class lecture style learning environment and hands on tactile experience using the mannequins.
Lord have mercy, that was one of the most intense training sessions of my life. All of my friends and professors KNEW I wanted NO parts of this training so they intentionally chose me to volunteer for every demonstration. Birth of a child, neonate assessments, fundal massages, emergent delivery maneuvers, helping the mannequin breast feed, IT DID NOT MATTER! My class that day loved to see me suffer my way through because I did not enjoy the that rotation.
During this course, we were assigned to different units on different hospitals. Multiple units on the labor & delivery units, postpartum, and pediatric units. I nearly passed out during my rotation on the labor & delivery unit when I helped with my first delivery. No amount of training could have prepared me for the real deal. I felt powerless and like I was a little kid. The overall process was incredibly beautiful when I felt better, but in the moment I felt every bit of pain that the mother was feeling.
Overall I enjoyed my postpartum and pediatric rotations the best! I like it when the babies are already delivered. All I have to do is take care of the mother and their baby. I can do that. The babies were incredibly cute once they made it out of the birthing process. The mothers were so happy to have them there, it was quite precious to help them out in anyway that I could. Pediatric units are not going to be my specialty, but it was fun to help the kids out when they were sick. Interestingly enough, they don’t need you to be their nurse 100% of the time necessarily, they simply need you to be a shoulder to cry on and a role model they can look up to in their times of need.