After what seems like a long time and no time at all, I have completed my final rotation! My rotation at QHC was five weeks long consisting of my first week in Labor and Delivery, my second week as night float between the OB and GYN teams, my third week on the GYN team, and my fourth and fifth weeks in the clinic. My preceptor, PA Gloria Sacco, was a treat to work with because it was clear from the first moment I met her that she enjoyed teaching students and helped me maximize my experience.

Having been through eight other rotations, I felt well-prepared for this rotation. I particularly enjoyed that I was able to go to the ED consults in this rotation as well, because I had enjoyed my Emergency Medicine rotation so much. My favorite part of this rotation was my two weeks in the clinic, however. I feel like I did most of my learning during that portion and got to get the most involved in procedures. I also enjoyed being able to take time to speak to and educate patients in the clinic setting.

During my L&D week, I got the opportunity to scrub into multiple Cesarean sections, but as it so happens I did not get the chance to participate in a vaginal delivery. Going into the final day of my third week where I was doing a 24 hour shift, I was a bit disappointed thinking I would not get that experience. I got very lucky though (and one of our patients got very dilated very quickly), to have been able to participate in a vaginal delivery and deliver the placenta on my last possible day to do so. That was such an emotional experience, and much more different than I thought it would feel after having had the experience in a Cesarean delivery.

This rotation was a bit different for me from others because, apart from the clinic, the services were generally resident run with little involvement from the attending physicians. In my Emergency Medicine rotation I had also worked with mostly residents, but this was to a much greater degree. I was glad in the clinic that I got to work with several lovely PAs, including two York graduates.

Going into rotations OB/GYN was an area of interest for me. I found that I really enjoy the clinic setting of this and the GYN service, but found less enjoyment in the L&D portion. I think going into the professional world as a PA, I would love to work in an outpatient OB/GYN clinic setting if I got the opportunity because it has a lovely mix of the patient education, relationship building, and procedure focus that draws me to settings like urgent care, emergency medicine, and psychiatry (minus the procedures), as well.