Ending a Super Busy Month of OB/GYN

A simulated version of my month in OB/GYN

Whew! The past month has been extremely busy! My OB/GYN rotation officially ended Friday, and although I had many great experiences, I just never quite had the time to sit down and write about them all. I was busy with rotations, working on my executive agenda, trying to keep a good work/life balance, and my daughter even turned 10! Right now, the entire month seems like one big blur, but the above picture of one of my school’s patient simulators pretty much describes the month perfectly: delivering babies and examining lots of women.

Developed so many skills this month

At the end of every rotation, I’m always amazed at the things I have learned and my growing knowledge base. Before this rotation, I didn’t know how to enter patient information in electronic health records, write prescriptions, use my hands to tell how many centimeters a patient is dilated, perform a GBS test on my own, or how to deliver a placenta (we practiced delivering fake babies during my clinical skills rotation). Now, I not only know how to do all of these things, but I feel pretty comfortable doing them as well. I also enjoyed getting the chance to go into the OR and assist with a tubal ligation, and I was extremely happy that my preceptor allowed me to be hands-on with as many patients as possible. It was even better that most, if not all, of the patients were okay with me taking their histories, performing exams on them, and answering their questions. OB/GYN is a field with a lot of variety, and it definitely has its perks. The only thing I really didn’t like about it was the unpredictability that came with the timing of deliveries, and the time spent waiting around for deliveries to occur, but on the plus side it allowed me to catch up on other things I was getting behind on, so I can’t complain.  

Growing up so fast!

Mommy/Daughter Paint Night

If I had to choose one highlight from this month, it would be my daughter’s birthday. To be able to see her reach another year of life and spend time with her is always a special experience, but this year started off a lot differently. I was called to come to the hospital that morning to help a woman deliver a baby, and in the moment of helping the patient deliver, it hit me that I was in that exact same position 10 years ago. Thinking about the many milestones I’ve encountered over the years and how when I first gave birth I didn’t know if I would ever achieve my dreams, to now being in a position where I am on the path to fulfilling my dreams, made me kind of emotional. I feel incredibly blessed to be where I am at in life, and it feels extra good that I can be a blessing to others each and every day.

Love coming back to campus and reconnecting with awesome people

Outside of that, I took my OB/GYN shelf exam Friday followed by a 3-hour practice exam for my COMLEX PE exam in February, so that officially ends this rotation and I am excited to start another. Tomorrow I begin my four-week Plastic Surgery rotation, and I am beyond excited! I absolutely love all forms of surgery, but plastic and reconstructive surgery is definitely at the top of my list. I can’t wait to be back in the OR assisting and learning as much as possible. Hopefully, I’ll have more time to write weekly about my experiences, but if not, feel free to catch me on Instagram as I’m pretty good about posting pics about my daily experiences and adding to my story section. It will be another early day tomorrow, so I’ll end here, but I hope everyone has an awesome week. Oh, and if you don’t hear from me again this week, have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!!