OB....almost one week down

For my first two weeks, I'm working in the OB department, which means I spend much of the day either helping to cut out or catch babies. There is enough down time to study, but there is also plenty to do, and lots of opportunity to learn. Already, I've been in a few c-sections (enough that I don't particularly feel the desire to do anymore), seen a bunch of vaginal deliveries, and caught a couple babies. Those things are slippery!

So far, the rotation is going fairly well. The residents have been pretty cool so far, which can make or break a rotation. I've already had my first overnight call, last night, and the resident was awesome! Between delivering babies, which came extremely fast last night for some reason (apparently nobody wanted to be in labor for long), I spent time sticking my fingers into foam holes, learning how to judge cervix dilation just by feel. However, I was not able to try out my new skills, since after I was comfortable with it, the patients were muslims, and they don't allow males in the room. I am not particularly taken with this practice of their's, but there's nothing I can do about it. Much to the husband's disappointment, they did wind up having a male deliver their baby, since he happened to be the attending on-call. Overall, the residents were cool, the nurses were friendly, the deliveries were pretty exciting, and I even got some sleep...not too much to complain about.

Today, I'm post call, but I'm at a loss for what to do! I woke up at around noon, but I really don't have anywhere to go. Although the actual rotation is going well, I do not, at all, enjoy being in Flushing. There doesn't seem to be anything at all to do within walking distance, the restaurants are mostly Asian, and driving anywhere is a pain in the ass due to horrible drivers, traffic, and complete lack of parking. I probably could go into the city, but it's more of a hassle than it's worth since I'd either drive and not find parking, or have to take the subway, which takes far longer than it ought to. This weekend, I'm going into the city to hang out with Lauren (my sister who I suppose I've never mentioned), so that should break up the monotony. It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend, and I have a three day weekend, so looking forward to that!

How dilated are you?