Head to the Useful Reading page and brush up on your FHR patterns and some other important general topics mentioned there.
Come with questions for your attending. This is a good rule of thumb for all rotations. Do some pre-reading and have questions ready. These should be thoughtful questions, not first-order questions that you could learn from the readings above. Review topics each day that you didn’t understand. After you read about them come up with more questions for the next day.
The best way to stand out on any rotation is to be as useful as possible to the people around you. Learn how to be helpful in the OR by moving the patient, getting the bed, helping clean after a case, retrieving blankets or saline for the anesthesiologist, etc. When you are in clinic or on the L&D floor learn where the closets are with the blankets, towels, or medical supplies. By helping everyone on the healthcare team you improve the care provided and reduce the workload of individual team members. Be helpful to everyone and you will often be rewarded by support staff and physicians with experiences and exposure.
Practice your knot tying. Be prepared if your attending decides to hand you suture and have you tie a knot.
Get good visualization for them with your retracting.
If they are tying a knot, have scissors ready in your hand to cut.
Clear the surgical site of blood or smoke with a lap or suction.
Anticipate the next instrument needed for the case and ask the scrub tech for it (this is advanced).
Understand the instruments so you can help set them up during the case (where suction/bovi wires are thrown off to, how they like the drapes clamped, etc.).
Review the OB/GYN Medical Student Manual. This document encompasses most of what you will see on your clerkship rotation. Some specific information on management including drugs, dosages, protocols, and note format may vary based on your specific program/hospital. This document is a general overview of these topics.
At the end of each surgical case, in-office procedure, or day in clinic, ask yourself 3-5 things you did well and 3-5 things that you could work on. This can be applied to any area in your life, but is helpful specifically for procedural and surgical reflection. If you are struggling to come up with some, ask your attending for feedback as well. Don’t wait for others to tell you what to work on, find areas that you can improve yourself.
