Bergen+Reflections

Monday, February 21. Today, up in Labor and Delivery, I got to experience my first day just exploring the unit and getting to know what it is that the nurses there do in this field. They went over standard procedured both themselves and the patient must go through before having a baby, and they also took the liberty of introducing me to labor and all that comes with it through some educational videos. It was pretty much a day in which the nurses took the time to introduce me to the career and what it consists of.

Thursday, February 24. Today I was allowed to watch a C-section. The patient had come in over night and stayed in the unit, and late the next morning she was given her epidural and prepped for surgery. It was a unique experience and that taught me alot. Before then, I had imagined a C-section to be completely different then what it actually turned out to be. This was the patients third child third C-section; therefore, there was a alot of scar tissue the OBGYN had to go through until she could reach the baby un the womb. During surgery, the mother became a bit naussius due to the anasthesia, but in the end she delivered a helathy 7 lbs. baby boy!

Monday, February 28. I got to experience the "coming home" of a new born The mother had delivered over the weekend and today was her and the baby's day to go home. I got to see the process in which the nurses had to prep the new mom to go home and take care of the baby by herself. There's alot that goes in to it. The baby was a baby girl and as soon as she was put in to a car seat, she bagan crying! It was a new experience for her and she did not like it at all. All in all, baby and mom went home healthy.

Thursday, Mach 3rd. It was a calm day in L&D. They unfortunately had no mothers for me to be able to shadow and help with.

Week of March 7-10. This week I was allowed to go in the nursery with the nurse and observe all the usual vitals she does on a newborb. Before the newborn can be returned to their mother, they must be placed under a heater until they reach a certain temperature which they take either rectally or as an axillary. They also check blood sugar by withdrawing a sample of blood, usually from the baby's foot or leg.

Week of March 14-17. This week I was allowed to view a natural, vaginal birth. It was a different experience to observe this after I had seen how a Cessarian section is done. This was the patient's third child, so she had an easy time with the birth. it was a fast delivery and quite interesting to see that after the initial birth of the child, theres still alot more to the process. Such as the birth of the placenta and other fluids, etc. Suprisingly as well though, It wasnt as gruesome as expected; just like the C-section. I must have a tougher stomach then I thought, but it was a good overall experience to finally get to see it in person.

Week of March 21-25 This week in L&D, the nurses has extra time because they weren't very busy with patients. They took the opportunity to show me certain aspects of thier job, They showed me a dilation chart and explained the labor process, such as when the body starts showing signs of giving birth.

Week of March 28-31 My last week in L&D was a great one! I didnt get to watch any births, but I did get to watch two newborns right after get their vitals checked and such. I also was able to witness a baby's first bath. The nurse gave it a "bed" bath with a bucket of warm water, baby shampoo, and a wash cloth. I also got to touch an umbilical cord. It was such an odd but interesting experience! the umbilical cord felt like a worm, it was a weird in texture. It was a good, overall experience though!

Week of April 4-7 This week was my first week in my new rotation in surgery. I got to see a plate removal from an elbow. It was removed because it had become a nuissance and the bone had already healed; therefore, the plate was possible to be removed. I also got to see a plate placement of a broken wrist. The Ulna had become shorter then the radius due to an old injury. Because of this, there was uneven pressure being put on the wrist,and it had become painful for the patient. It wasn't a very bloody surgery at all. It was very interesting to watch.