OBY/GYN Rotation – Day 11

Today was my, “Labor Process w/ Crystal” day. Turns out it was in fact a different Crystal from lactation specialist Crystal; this was RN Crystal. Similarly though, she wasn’t really sure what we were supposed to be doing together. So I just followed her around as she went about her day in the Labor and Delivery unit. One patient had a pretty prolonged labor so I got a chance to see first-hand some the management for that, but also because of that it was a relatively uneventful day. I spent most of it looking at a screen watching fetal heart rates and contractions, desperately search for signs of labor progress.

By the end of the day, I only got to see one delivery, but it was much different from the delivery I participated in last week. This time I was purely an observer. I was also present during much of the pre-“call the ob to deliver the baby” pushing which was pretty crazy. At my first delivery the hairy turnip was already visible. This time I got to see how it got there (and everything involved in that process).

It was an interesting day overall. I learned a lot about all the work that goes into working with expectant mothers between their last prenatal visit and delivery. Definitely helped me grow further in my appreciation for nurses and all that they do (and also reinforced my decision to continue down my current path). I also learned a lot about the culture of this particular Labor and Delivery unit, and I am definitely seeing patterns amongst different professionals. Whether or not any of that can be generalized to other L&D units in other hospitals or to other units within this hospital is yet to be seen. While I didn’t get a chance to work with every patient there, I did get to hear some of the craziness ensuing in other parts of the floor.

I tried to make myself useful when I could, but I didn’t get to do much as far as actually helping or working with patients sadly. Though at one point I was allowed to place a fake IV as part of an in-service that some of the nurses were doing.

For lunch I went to this place called “Quesadilla Gorilla” and got a chicken and bacon quesadilla. It was pretty good, but kinda wished it was bigger, not that it was small, I was just hoping for like a Freebirds sized dilla. It came with a good smokey sour cream though. Went to the grocery after my workout to stock up on a bunch of stuff so I don’t keep eating out on my lunch breaks. Then for dinner I tried my own version this recipe that I saw on YouTube for like a cream sauce chicken dish. Turned out pretty good, but definitely will try to do somethings differently next time, mostly in terms of process.

Tomorrow I am thankfully back in clinic. After spending the day in the hospital, I think I like the clinic environment a lot better.