Day 10: Labor and Delivery

Last day- bittersweet! Not much happened I followed the same nurse I have been following throughout my internship. She is always so nice and talkative. I got to see a vaginal delivery to a very happy couple. But I didnt have time to see anything else. Over all a great day, and a wonderful experience. I am thankful this did not turn me away from nursing, but rather made me want to be a nurse more and maybe even work as a labor and delivery nurse. And I am also very thankful Hutchison providing me this opportunity!

Day 9: Gynecology

This gynecology shift was very boring and not much action. I followed the same nurse around and watched her take care for all her patients that had just come from surgery. She basically did all the same procedures for everyone she had for that time period. She took their vitals, charted, and got anything they needed or asked for. The only exciting part was I got to listen to one of the nurses talk about her experience with breast cancer. She is a survivor and now works in this medical and surgery department to help patients that have just come out of surgery from a mastectomy. She wears pink scrubs in honor of breast cancer.

Day 8: Labor and Delivery

This shift was a very interesting day in the Labor and Delivery department. Right when I got there I rushed and put on scrubs and a cap and scrubs on my shoes too and I was rushed into an OR room and watched a c-section. The doctor told me to stand against the back wall where I could see everything, but sit down if I got light headed. This lady was a pretty heavy lady and I watched the doctor cut through a lot of layers of fat in her stomach before he got to the baby. It was really cool to see the inside of her stomach and the actual fat as gross at that is. It was a lot of cutting that the doctor had to go through to get to the actual baby. Although she was numb and couldn't feel anything that was going on down there, the doctor was being very fast and almost slightly harsh with her body and it was making me feel uncomfortable because I felt as if she could feel it. He kept reaching his entire hand and arm in her stomach to try and pull the baby out. Her husband and a couple other nurses were behind the curtain blocking her from seeing what was going on and they were comforting her. The doctor reached in a pulled the baby out of her stomach. Then, the coolest part, the doctor reached in and got her uterus and pulled it out of the inside of her stomach and laid it on the outside of her belly. I saw the two tubes and watched as he stitched her up. As he was doing this the lady was throwing up a lot which was really gross and made me sweat. He sewed her up and then they moved her to a new bed to take her to a recovery room. It all happened so fast and you could tell this team has done this procedure numerous times. All the while, there was a nurse taking care of the baby and the dad taking pictures. It was so much different than a delivery in a normal hospital room. It was such a cold room and not a warm and loving environment in the OR room to have a baby. I felt sorry for the woman. I went home and told my mom about the procedure because she had a c-section with my older sister but she didn't know what anything looked like or what was happening because she was numb and her stomach was blocked off. I realized every delivery can look totally different, and take different times and can be a completely different experience for every couple.

Day 7: NICU

Today I was in the NICU again and it was good. I happened to ride up the elevator with another volunteer that was around 30 years old. She was getting the official tour of NICU and so I was able to walk around with them and get all the full details that I never got from my first day in the NICU. It was really cool because I got to care for one of the babies I saw get delivered during my L&D shift last week. For some reason I felt somewhat attached to this baby because I saw it from the mother being pregnant, to it actually being birthed and whisked away by the NICU team and now to the actual little plastic bubble he has to stay in to keep growing. I touched his hand after hearing a long lecture about how important it is for babies in their young state to be held and touched and how some babies will die if they are never touched.  I hope my touch to the little baby boy meant something to him. For the last couple of hours me and the new volunteer I rode up in the elevator with compiled hundreds of paper books on having a new baby in the NICU to give to all the new parents that come to visit their babies. We had really good conversation about what I wanted to do with my life and now were pretty good friends!

Day 6: NICU

NICU shift was very quiet today. The whole room stays very dim and peaceful for the babies. Not many visitors but lots of caring for the tiny babies. It was not very eventful and looked a lot like my first shift. Good day overall. I hope these babies grow quickly!

Day 5: Gynecology

Yesterday was not very eventful in the Gynecology department. The nurse I was put with was very kind to me and to the patients she was taking care of that day. I saw a lot of the busy work that nurses had to do. We went from room to room checking on her 3 patients she had for that day and immediately going to do what the patient asked for or needed. I felt that there was almost no break for the nurse to sit down. She was constantly getting things the patients asked for, whether it was more tea, or a new change of sheets because the patient spilled her cranberry juice. Whatever it was, the nurse was on it right away without making a complaint. Whenever she had a spare moment with her current 3 patients she was taking care of, she would go prepare a couple other rooms that had patients coming soon. She would fix the bed just right, make sure there was ice and water on the bed side table, put all the right equipment in the room according to the patients surgery, and if there was a family member staying in the room as well she would fix the sofa for that family member. I really saw how Baptist's nurses cared deeply for every patient no matter what. This nurse wanted her patients to be as comfortable as possible at all times. I enjoyed following her around and watching her chart the information and take the patients vitals. It is a lot slower than Labor and Delivery, but still requires just as much love and care.

Day 4: Labor and Delivery

I had the best day ever! I watched two vaginal deliveries today and they were both very different.

The first one was very quick and I was very nervous because I had never seen anything like it before. The doctor came in and was asking the nurses some questions and then noticed that I was not a familiar face. He asked who I was and what I was there for, boy I did not know what I was getting myself into when I told him. He immediately grabbed me gloves, a face mask, full on delivery scrubs, and pushed me right in front with all the nurses. I was already very timid and he could tell so he put he hand on my shoulders to make sure I didnt scoot back and hide my face... which is what I wanted to do!! I was glad he was there though because it forced me to watch everything up close. I saw the entire birth of this baby. It was very early so the whole NICU team was in there as well. It was very crowed and messy during the birth. The mom did not have any family members to support her during the delivery which made me sad. She pushed for about 2 minutes and out came the baby. I was shocked when I first saw the little baby's head for the first time. Im not sure how detailed I am allowed to make this, but lets just say I got the full experience.

The next delivery I saw was a young couple that was having their first child. They were very excited and very adorable. I got to talk to the mom a lot about her son that was about to be born. The nurse in charge for this delivery was very open to letting me help out with everything. I held the mom's leg every time she had a contraction and had to push. I got to comfort her and tell her she was doing a very good job. She would sometimes grab my hand when she had to push really hard. I loved being apart of the action! She pushed for about an hour before the baby came. The baby was staying in one position instead of making much progress so the doctor in charge had to get a small "vacuum" to help the baby move along. It was such a gross and beautiful thing when the baby came out. The parents were so proud and even I was crying! The nurses were making fun of me because they see this stuff every day and arent really touched by it anymore. After the fact the dad cut the umbilical cord. The dad asked me to video the parents holding the baby for the first time and to take pictures as well. The grandparents came in and they were so beyond proud.

I had a really good day, and I can hardly describe in words how sweet the process is. I loved being apart of it and really am interested in going in to this field.

This is a picture of me in full gear after the delivery of the first baby.

Day 3: Gynecology

1 word: gross.

To start off the nurse I shadowed was very welcoming and eager to show me everything about the department and her job as a nurse in the gynecology department. I saw many women coming straight out of surgery that were all recovering from very different types of issues. Some were as grateful as ever even in the most uncomfortable situations, and some were being as snobby as possible. Whatever it was the nurses handled all of them the same and I truly saw how much thankful patients were a blessing to their nurses. I got to watch how nurses charted about their patients and also got to see the huge drug cabinet where all the medicine is held. I loved being put on task by the nurses. The nurse I was shadowing let me go into rooms by myself and deliver minor things that the patients needed. I was able to talk to the patients a little, and some even opened up to me in trying to explain to me how hard it was to be in recovery in this department. I also got to hear a lot from the gynecology nurses about how Obama care is affecting them. Because of the new health care policy, the hospital is very tight on how many nurses work at once in order to save money. At the time that I was shadowing the nurses were complaining about how hard the morning shift will be with only 3 nurses and 12 patients. Also, the sweet old lady that has been working there for 16 years that delivers all the patients their meals was recently fired and I witnessed the nurse I was shadowing and the sweet old lady crying together.
I wont go into much detail into what I saw because quite frankly I'm trying to forget it myself (haha), but I did get to see a side of the women's hospital that I had never even thought about before. I realized every body part women have someone has to be an expert on, and someone has to take care of that part of the body when something is going wrong- even when it is not the most fun. I am thankful to know those nurses and doctors are out there ready to take care of me if that ever happens to me. Baptist truly is such a caring and loving hospital. Here is the only picture I could snap of the day- one nurse giving another nurse a report on her patients who will be taking over her patients for the night shift.

Day 2: Labor and Delivery

I was very anxious coming into this four hour shift. I had never seen live child birth before and didnt really know what to expect. I clocked in at 4pm, changed into a full set of scrubs, and headed to meet the charge nurse at the nurses station. At this station, there are about 5 nurses working the 7am to 7pm shift. Each of these nurses has 2 mothers to take care of for 12 hours until the next set of nurses come. I started off by checking on a hispanic woman who did not speak any English, but her husband did. It was around 4pm and she was at 7cm. She was having frequent contractions and I was hoping I would get to see her deliver. She was doing a natural birth and did not want an epidural. When I first walked in I could hear her screaming because of her current contraction and I thought this is it, shes having the baby right now, oh my word get me out. I started sweating and my knees went weak. Little did I know, she wasnt going to deliver the baby while I was on my shift. I soon calmed down when I realized it was just a contraction and I got used to the loud screams, as she had a contraction every 3 minutes for the next 4 hours I was there. The nurse I was shadowing showed me what all the monitors were for and how the chart her contractions and keep track of the baby's heart beat. I could only imagine how overwhelmed this woman felt during this scary first time experience as everyone around her spoke English, and she spoke not a word. I tried to put myself in her shoes and helped calm her down during her contractions and fed her ice every now and then because she wasnt allowed to drink water during labor.

The next woman I had an experience with was a mom that was giving birth to a very unhealthy baby. She already had one kid with the same conditions and she is alive and living with severe disabilities. She told the doctor if this baby comes out without a heart beat, do not try to resuscitate it. I guess mothers do know best because this baby did come out without a heart beat. A very sad sight to see, but the nurses have to quickly deal with getting the baby dressed for pictures to put together a small memory book for the parents to take home. Once the parents had enough time to say good bye to their child, the nurse takes it away to another part of the hospital.

Overall, I really liked this department more than the NICU. It was a lot faster pace, more action, and I got to wear actual scrubs! I feel like I would be good at calming down the mothers during contractions and helping them through the labor process. I am very interested in this field.

Day 1: NICU

Today I arrived at the NICU around 3:55pm, I signed in, rode the elevator to the third floor, washed my hands and forearms and scrubed into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for the next 4 hours. As I expected, the nurses werent that welcoming and kind of left me on my own to look around and ask questions to different nurses that were caring for the babies. All of the babies in the NICU were in a plastic covering with multiple tubes and IVs in them. They had blankets over their plastic "egg" they were in to make it dark as if they were still in the mothers womb. The first baby I saw was the smallest in the entire unit. He weighed less than 1 pound. I was in shock and couldnt take my eyes off the baby. The nurse in charge of the baby said this baby was born at 20 weeks and has to stay in the NICU until it gets to at least 5 pounds. A NICU heart doctor came over and did an ultra sound on this baby's heart. I got to see all of the different aspects of the heart even though it was so small. Because the baby was so premature the baby's heart beat shook the whole baby. Next I followed a nurse to her baby's station. This baby had a swollen stomach and it was hard for it to get a lot of oxygen. The nurse took the baby's temperature under in its armpit, gave it medicine, changed its diaper, switched it to its stomach so that its head could continue to grow properly. She also put different barriers around the baby so it can build muscle by pushing against those cushioned barriers as if it was pushing against the mothers uterus wall. Next I followed a nurse that was taking care of a baby thats mother was on drugs while she was pregnant. This baby cried so much and the mother didnt show up for the baby's visting time which made me sad. Next a nurse was taking care of a baby that had ripped out its feeding tube and made a mess in its bed area so she let me hold the baby and calm it down while she changed the bedding. That was my highlight of the entire day because the nurse was so nice and helpful and offered to take my picture.It was breath taking to hold a baby that small. After this I watched multiple parents come in to visit their baby and also some got to take their baby home for the first time which was a very sweet thing to witness. All of the nurses acted like they were family and laughed around and joked with each other. At 7pm a new set of nurses came in to take the old nurses spots. These nurses would now stay from 7pm to 7am watching over the babies. Overall it was a slower department than I thought but I really enjoyed it.

Expectations

My first day I will start off with 4 hours in the NICU. I heard from some other classmates that the nurses in the NICU werent all that helpful and didnt explain much so I am prepared to ask questions on my own and work to get the most out of this department. I am curious to see what different methods the nurses use to help the babies grow and to make it seem like they are still in the womb. Overall, I am very excited to see the different departments and to see which one I am drawn to the most. I think I am the most anxious about labor and delivery because child birth freaks me out a little bit. I hope this will give me a better understanding of being a nurse in a womens hospital and hopefully will narrow the departments down for me so I can figure out what area of nursing I want to go in.