Oh OB… and GYN…

So as I approach the end of this rotation, I look back and realize it was a weird one.
Things I’ve learned or confirmed during my OB/GYN rotation:
1. Babies should breathe. When they don’t, it’s bad.
2. Fetal heart rates in the 30s warrant stat c-sections. Actually, I knew that but convincing my attending who was nowhere near the patient’s room took longer than I felt comfortable with.
3. Staff with whooping cough is bad.
4. Eat before surgery. If you don’t eat and pass out, don’t fall into the sterile field. (Don’t worry, I fell backwards. Two staples stopped the bleeding.)
5. I liked urogyn surgery. That is, I liked it until I had to do a pessary check. Upchuck reflex. If you don’t know, google it if you dare.
6. Re #5: Don’t vomit in the patient’s room as someone is changing a pessary. The nurse felt guilty after but happy she made it to the trash.
7. Labor and delivery is, in a nutshell, the following: Get pregnant, check fetal heart tone, check fundal height, check GBS status, check 1hr or 3hr GTT at 28 weeks. Go into labor, get epidural, pop kid out. Repeat. There are slight variations for c-sections.
8. Overnight call wasn’t too bad. Got 4-5hrs of sleep each time.
9. Jehovah’s Witnesses with Hct under 20 are not ideal candidates for a total abdominal hysterectomy.
10. The nurses who hate one of your attendings may love you just because they feel bad that you have to work with that attending.
11. Be nice to everyone.
12. Ask/Offer to do things. If you don’t do the little things, you’ll never get to do the big stuff.
13. Ferning looks really cool.
14. Have fun.

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